What Happened After
by Alieyxa
Summary: [AU] Takes place years after Sasuke has returned to Konoha, and Naruto has become Hokage. Everything has been relatively normal in Konoha, but what happens when an old enemy resurfaces? Pairings: starts as SasuSaku,becomes ItaSaku with NaruHina, ShikaIno.
1. Sakura's New Family

"What Happened After"

**Anime**: Naruto

**Genre**: General

**Rating**: T for mild language and other things similar.

**Author**: ariensun

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I only own the keyboard and computer I am using, along with any and all of my OCs (obviously).

Chapter 1: Sakura's New Family

"Mommy! When's daddy coming home!" a little girl with pink hair an dark eyes whined to her mother.

"I told you already, Hanako, your father won't be home until after you go to bed." her mother called from the kitchen , where she was just finishing up that night's meal. "Now go wash up, dear. Supper's almost ready."

The girl walked over to the washroom and quickly washed her hands before proceeding to the dinner table in the kitchen, wiping her hands on her deep purple shirt that was slightly too big for her, but did match her black skirt. It was quiet for a moments, until –

"Mom! I'm home!"

Sakura ignored it and continued serving hers and her daughters food, as well as two more places – including one that would end up not being used. A few moments later, her eldest son came in, still looking tired from his mission.

"Hello Katsu-kun!" Hanako greeted him. Her brother smiled. He had dark hair that was fairly short, but very unruly; and green eyes, just like his mother's. He wore dark purple shorts that almost looked black, and a white shirt with the Uchiha Clan symbol on the back. His forehead protector was tied around his head like most of the boys wore them. Once they were all seated, Sakura spoke.

"Now, Katsu, how was the mission today? Are you enjoying being a genin?" she asked her son, who shrugged.

"Pretty easy, I guess." Katsu replied, "It was only a 'C' rank, and my team's done harder already, and Ino-sensei is always pushing us to do our very best." Sakura nodded, but she had a feeling that the word "pushing" might be a little soft. She of all people knew best that Ino was not exactly the most easy-going sensei out there. That's not to say that Ino wasn't a nice person, though.

"I suppose you're looking forward to the Chuunin Selection Exams." she commented. The thirteen year old nodded, as his mouth was stuffed with noodles.

"Mommy, when do I get to be a ninja?" Hanako asked. Sakura chuckled.

"Not for a couple more years, dear. You're only six, after all." she told her daughter but when the girl's face fell she quickly added, "But why don't ask daddy to teach you some things tomorrow?"

"Okay!" Hanako's face lit up again.

Katsu was about to ask another question when his mother held up a silencing hand.

"No more talking until after dinner." she commanded, and they ate the remainder of their meal quietly.

Afterwards, Sakura was standing at the kitchen sink when her younger son came in through the door.

"Somebody's late." Sakura commented without looking up from the dish she was washing.

"Sorry." was the reply she got, as the ten year old boy came into the kitchen.

"What's wrong, Hokuro?" she asked, sensing tension in her son's voice.

"Nothing."

Sakura placed the now clean dish on the drying rack and turned to face the dark haired and onyx-eyed boy. He was wearing a black Uchiha Clan shirt, and navy blue pants that came down, almost to his blue shinobi sandals. He looked a lot like Sasuke used to , except for his long black hair that was clipped back like Itachi's used to be.

"Any chance of getting more detailed out of you?" Sakura asked him. He growled.

"How was your first mission?" she pressed on. Hokuro had just graduated from the Academy a few days ago, and had passed his Genin Exam with Shikamaru as his sensei – which was quite a feat, because Shikamaru was rumoured to hold a tougher Exam than even Kakashi had, especially with the extra mind tricks he had added.

"Dumb cats." Hokuro answered. Yes. Just like his father, thought Sakura.

"Alright then." she surrendered, as he walked out of the room with an apple.

"I'm home."

A voice woke Sakura from her light slumber on the couch. It must have been past midnight, and she was still in the blue kunoichi dress she had been wearing all day.

"I see." she mumbled, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"Tiring day?" asked Sasuke' slightly sarcastic voice. He sat down beside her and placed a soft kiss on her lips. After the kiss, she answered him.

"Let's see, Hanako was running around all day, and thankfully managed to get a hold of one of my kunais, which kept her busy. Katsu is bored and waiting for the Chuunin Exams to start in a few days, and Hokuro speaks as much as you used to, but somehow manages to complain as much as Naruto." after a few moments she added in, "How was your day, dear?"

"Okay." he answered simply, and receiving an odd look from his wife.

"Let's just say I have some unfinished business to take care of, and leave it at that." then he added, "I thought it was over years ago." He finished explaining. For a moment Sakura looked confused, but then a look of horrible realization came across her face.

"Don't tell me you mean what I think you do." she said. Sasuke nodded.

"Itachi." she breathed. Sasuke nodded once slowly, but didn't notice the glint in her eye or the tone in her voice that suggested she was hiding something. He was too wrapped up in his own thoughts on the situation.

"But how is this possible?"

"I don't know, but I saw him today." her husband told her. "Out on that scouting trip with the ANBU, I know that it was him." He looked down. "I'm sorry for putting you in this danger, Sakura."

"No. No, you don't have to be sorry. It's not your fault." she told him, "But oh god, what will happen to the children? What will happen to us?" Sasuke looked right into her eyes with his own, that showed a fierce determination, as well as love and caring.

"I don't know yet if he knows about our family, but he is bound to find out. That's why tomorrow I want all your bags packed and ready to go just in case." he told her, "After I tell Naruto about this tomorrow, I'm going back to where I saw Itachi today." Sakura looked horrified.

"What!" she hissed loudly, "Are you crazy! You're going to get yourself killed!"

"I beat him once." he answered her.

"I know that, but he will be stronger." she hissed back, "You left for seven years before, and this whole thing was supposed to be over! You came back last time, and if you leave again and don't come back, I'll-" she burst into tears.

"I'm sorry, Sakura, but I have to know this. For our sake and the children's" he told her softly, "And I want to know how the hell he survived." Sakura only nodded. She knew that when it came to Itachi, it was pointless to argue with her husband.

"Just tell me one thing – why are we to have our bags packed?" Sakura asked him.

"If I don't return by dinner time tomorrow, I want you to leave here and go to Naruto. He will protect you. That dobe wouldn't dare let you get hurt, and Hinata can help you with the children." Sasuke told her seriously.

"No! You have to come back." Sakura pointed out, seeing the look in Sasuke's eyes that told of a possibility that she did not want to think about.

"I will." he told her, "I promise you." He wiped her tears away softly with the back of his hand. Sakura nodded at his words.


	2. Uchiha Itachi

"What Happened After"

**Anime**: Naruto

**Genre**: General

**Rating**: T for mild language and other things similar.

**Author**: ariensun

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. I only own the keyboard and computer I am using, along with any and all of my OCs (obviously).

Chapter 2: Uchiha Itachi

"Mom, where'd dad run off to so early?" yawned Katsu, as he munched on his breakfast.

"I'm sure he'll tell you all about it when he gets home, Katsu." said Sakura. Her voice was steady, but inside she was deeply worried and her mind was racing. She found it hard to concentrate on the bags she was packing. She was trying as hard as she could to stop her hands from shaking, but to no avail. Katsu and Hokuro noticed this from their spot at the dining table, and exchanged worried looks. Their mother often was worried when their father went out on missions, but she trusted his abilities. This time, it was different. Both boys wondered what sort of mission could have their mother so worked up.

Sakura stood up with a sigh, and dragged the bags outside the front door. When she came back inside, she headed upstairs to wake her daughter, whom she had let sleep in. Then, she would go talk to Ino and Shikamaru to explain why Katsu and Hokuro wouldn't be at training today. She stepped into her daughter's room and turned the lights on. The little girl sleeping groaned, making Sakura smile.

"Come on, darling." said Sakura gently, "Hinata-chan is coming over today, and your brothers are staying home. Today's a special day."

The little girl obediently got out of bed, wondering what her mother could mean by "A special day". Hanako hoped that it meant her father didn't have a mission today.

**Hokage's Office**

"ARE YOU CRAZY, SASUKE?" the Rokudaime yelled at his friend. The Uchiha had plugged his ears, but they were still ringing.

"Not so loud, Naruto!" Sasuke hissed, "I don't want anyone to know he's back!" Naruto sighed.

"Are you at least _sure_ he's back, Sasuke? He's not supposed to be alive." he asked the Uchiha, then added, half-sarcastically, "Just before I let my ANBU captain go trampsing through the woods after someone who's supposed to be dead."

"Yes." said Sasuke.

Naruto frowned, but nodded half-heartedly. "Alright. You can go." The blonde had a feeling that even if he told Sasuke not to go, he would go anyway. As Sasuke turned to leave the building, Naruto added,

"Just don't go nuts like last time, alright?"

"Yeah." Sasuke knew exactly what his old friend was referring to. "I know."

"Alright," growled Sasuke as he got closer and closer to the spot he had seen his brother the previous day. "Where are you, you half-dead bastard." He had been travelling for hours, and there was still no sign of his brother.

"Looking for me, little brother?"

Sasuke skid to a halt and jumped back, throwing a kunai at the source of the voice from mid air. He landed easily on the ground, and his target just as easily dodged his kunai, with a single movement. Itachi advanced into the light, and Sasuke saw that his brother had barely changed. The only thing different was his now completely black cloak, which was void of the old Akatsuki clouds. Sasuke wasn't surprised at this, though. The Akatsuki had disbanded and become extinct a number of years ago. Itachi smirked.

"Mainyu. Come on out and meet your _uncle_." Itachi called over his shoulder to a smaller cloaked figure. Only this person, was a girl, probably about fifteen years old, Sasuke noted.

"I thought you were going to let me fight, today, father!" she said angrily. 'Mainyu' had red hair and her father's eyes, complete with Sharingan. They were Mangekyou Sharingan, too. Sasuke was disgusted. The girl obviously took after her father. And that was a fact he couldn't quite wrap his head around.

"You have a daughter." Sasuke stated in awe, but took a careful step back.

"I see you're as slow as usual." sneered Itachi, and advanced toward his brother. Sasuke decided to press on.

"So, who's her mother?" he asked, "Don't tell me you've gotten married." Instead of angering Itachi, his older brother smirked.

"Wouldn't you like to know. And you've turned into quite the little hypocrite." Before Sasuke could deny this, Itachi continued. "So tell me, how is Sakura these days? I suppose she finally forgave you, didn't she little brother." Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"How would you know about Sakura?" he demanded.

Itachi kept his calm exterior, and unnervingly calm voice to almost a whisper. "Ask her yourself. I'm sure she'll have a lot to say to you tonight. I'm surprised she's not here, looking for someone."

"She knows where I am, if that's what you're implying."

"Believe what you will. But I would be sure you know the _whole_ story before you do." said Itachi, and turned his head back towards his daughter. "Come, Mainyu." he said, and both he and his daughter disappeared into thin air.

**Uchiha Residence**

"Mommy! Hinata-san! I'm bored! Why didn't Hitomi and Ryo come over too!" whined little Hanako, who didn't understand why she was stuck in their sector of town, when her mother usually let her go out with her friends.

"Because I need you to stay here today, Hanako." Sakura told her daughter, who had plopped herself down on the grassy lawn between herself and Hinata.

"But Mommy!"

"Hanako, your father will be home very soon." said Sakura, not being brave enough to look at either her daughter or her friend. Hanako made a little face and folded her arms sulkily over her chest.

"Where did daddy go?" the little girl asked, but Sakura didn't answer her.

_**Flashback**_

"Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan!"

The pink haired kunoichi looked around to see her blonde former-team mate running up to her, just as she came to her house. Her arms were full of shopping bags, as she had gone out to do some grocery shopping.

"Ne, Sakura-chan, is what Hinata-chan said true? Are you really pregnant?" asked Naruto excitedly.

Sakura nodded proudly. "Yes." she said and unlocked her door. She left the door open as an unspoken invitation for Naruto to follow her in. The blonde shinobi looked taken aback. He had been excited, yes, but he had been hoping that it _wasn't_ true. He followed Sakura inside and waited while she stored her groceries away.

When she was done, she led Naruto through the empty house and to the living room, motioning for his to sit. Sakura laid down on a couch.

"But, Sakura-chan," said Naruto, no longer really excited, "Who's the father? Sasuke-teme hasn't returned yet." Sakura didn't answer, and Naruto tried asking another question, hoping that he could figure it out himself.

"How long?" he asked quietly.

Sakura replied in a clear voice, "Eight months last week."

Naruto's mind raced as he tried to rack his brain for names and possibilities. Neji was dating Tenten, Shikamaru was with Ino, even Kiba and Shino had found girlfriends. Then, the horrifying truth surfaced in his mind. Eight months ago was when that Akatsuki freak had come to Konoha, looking for information on Orochimaru. But they had driven him out! Yet, somehow Naruto knew that that man was the father. He clenched his fists tightly.

"No." he whispered, almost horrified by the thought, "Itachi."

Sakura's answer was clear, and her tone was indifferent, but her voice still held some air of mourning. Itachi had left, and could very well be dead by now. She forced a sad smile.

"Haven't you noticed that I stopped obsessing over Sasuke when Itachi-kun cam to Konoha, Naruto-kun?" she asked her friend, who she could see was not pleased with her decision. But then again, she had known at the time that no one would accept it.

"I was there when Itachi-kun came to Tsunade-sama's office, looking for the information. He looked at me when Tsunade-sama told him that she wouldn't give him the information. I don't fully understand what happened, or what was going on in my head - I still don't - but I think, I love him."

Naruto clenched his fists even tight, if even possible, but he still had one more thing to ask her before leaving. "Sakura-chan?"

Sakura looked up at his tone-of-voice. "Yes?"

"I hope you're absolutely sure about this." Naruto said, and stood up, exciting the house. Sakura was left alone to her thoughts. He didn't even wait for answer from his former team mate.

Inside, Sakura was left trembling. She place a hand on her bloated abdomen and was quickly re-assured by a small kick.

"I am sure, Naruto-kun."

_**end flashback**_

"Mommy?" asked Hanako. Her mother had a far off look in her eyes.

Sakura was snapped back to reality by her youngest child's voice. She smiled down at her daughter. "I'm sorry, Hanako." Sakura said kindly, "Your father just went on a special mission for Naruto-san."

Hanako nodded, and continued watching her brothers as the had a little practice match in the street of the Uchiha sector. Sakura, on her part, ignored the sympathetic look she was getting from Hinata. Hinata, Naruto, and Itachi were the only ones who knew about Sakura's first children, born when she was nineteen.

Sakura sighed. Children. She had five of them if she included the twins that Itachi fathered. She could still recalled what they looked like. They had lived in Konoha for a while, even after Sasuke returned and she had gotten married. They had lived with Naruto and Hinata, until one night when Sakura was out for some fresh air, Itachi had asked her if he might train one of them as a ninja. He told her that the other one would become a medic-nin as Sakura wanted, or could go to the Academy. Sakura was hesitant at first, but relented with some, ahem, _persuasion_ from Itachi.

Mainyu and Yoshiko. Both girls, and identical twins. They both had dark red, almost crimson coloured hair, and dark Uchiha eyes. Itachi had chosen to train Mainyu, as she had been very enthusiastic about becoming a kunoichi. Yoshiko, who had had a much quieter demeanour, had chosen to follower in her mother's footsteps and become a medic-nin, although she also wanted to become "at _least_ a Chuunin, mother", in her words. But perhaps Mainyu had been too much like her father. She had acquired the same blood lust and evil nature as her father, perhaps even more so because she did not have anyone to love. Yes, love. Sakura still had feelings for Itachi, she probably always would. But, she also had strong feelings for Sasuke. Her friends had been overjoyed when they learned that she and Sasuke were going to be married, and that Tsunade-sama that pardoned all the charges against Sasuke.

Suddenly, Sakura was again snapped from her reverie by a familiar voice, directed at the two boys fighting: namely the one on the losing side, Katsu.

"Block his kunai." said a male voice.

Sure enough - only seconds later - Hokuro made a dodge at Katsu with a kunai, but Katsu was able to block it. The boys stopped their match and Hanako jumped up. The little girl sprinted towards her father, who picked her up and spun her around before setting her back down on the ground.

"Daddy!" she squealed happily, "Your back!"

Sasuke nodded, but didn't smile like he usually did. "Yes, I'm back."

Sakura stood up and walked over, closely followed by Hinata. There was something not right in Sasuke's eyes. They seemed troubled and distant, but had not been that way for years on end. Itachi had brought back memories to Sasuke, and Sakura hoped against hope that Sasuke had not found out about Mainyu and Yoshiko.

When she came up to her husband, Sasuke gave her a polite and careful kiss on the cheek, and whispered; "We need to talk." Sakura nodded, and in that moment came to a decision about something very important.

"I know." she replied, "I have something to tell you, too." She led him inside while Hinata knowingly kept the children out of the house.

**A/N:** And here's the second chapter! Sorry it took so long, but I got a bit of writer's block half-way through and kept putting it off. I've already started on the third chapter, and I'm almost done, so it should be up by the end of next week.

Arien.


	3. The Talk

"What Happened After"

**Anime**: Naruto

**Genre**: General

**Rating**: T for mild language and other things similar.

**Author**: ariensun

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. I only own the keyboard and computer I am using, along with any and all of my OCs (obviously).

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WARNING: This chapter contains a bit of angst, and if you prefer fluffier stuff I suggest you not read it. I apologize ahead of time, but I've been in a really angst-y mood lately.

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Chapter 3: The Talk

Sasuke closed the door behind them and sat down on the couch, while Sakura seated herself uncomfortably in a chair. He studied her. His wife seemed nervous about something, and she was grasping her hands together in her lap tighter than any other time they had spoken in private. _What could she have to tell me?_ he wondered. Surely she had nothing to do with Itachi. Sasuke brushed aside his worry. Besides, Itachi and Sakura had never met. It was quite possible the his brother simply heard about her somehow and was making assumptions.

Sakura, on her part, was terrified. She tried to hide it as best she could, but she could see Sasuke watching her carefully, and almost suspiciously. She took a deep breath to calm herself and sat up straight. In the strongest voice she could manage, she spoke.

"What did you want to talk about, Sasuke-kun?" she asked. Sasuke sighed.

"When I met Itachi today, he had a girl with him, about fourteen years old. And, he knew your name. The girl had red hair, and I can't hep but wonder how many girls Itachi has met with red or _pink_ hair." he said, making Sakura tense up. "I want to know, have you ever met Itachi before?"

Sakura swallowed uneasily, but decided to answer truthfully. "Yes. I met him, about a year before you returned."

Sasuke nodded slowly. "When he came to Konoha?"

"Yes."

He nodded again, and stood up. "And, it never occurred to you that I might find out?"

Sakura began to shake from the tone of his voice. Sasuke was angry, very angry.

"I-I…"

Sasuke made for the door, but Sakura jumped up and grabbed his arm.

"Please. Please, Sasuke-kun, you have to understand! I'm sorry! I never meant for it to happen!" she cried, "Please!"

There was a crash of glass and simultaneously, Sasuke regained control of his arm.

"She's your daughter, isn't she!" he accused her, "How could you do this?"

Sakura wished that he would calm down. That maybe he could learn to accept it as a part of the past, like everyone else had. When she didn't answer, he slapped her. Sakura froze. _No,_ her brain denied it, _no, that didn't just happen._ She reached out to him, but he grabbed her wrist, then the other one.

"Sasuke-kun! Please! It's in the past! I'm sorry!" she said frantically. Sasuke let go of her one arm and drew his hand back to punch her, but Sakura reached down with the free hand and grabbed a kunai from the pouch at her side. She reached out and cut his arm. Not deeply, but just enough so that he couldn't harm her for a few moments.

Sasuke drew back his other arm, fist clenched, and ready to hit her back. He made contact with her left cheek. Sakura was in shock, but somehow found the strength to run. She sprinted as fast as she could out of the house and away from the Uchiha Compound.

"Sakura-chan!" Hinata called after her, but she kept running. Her bare feet caused her to fall a few times, but she ran as fast as she could to her refuge. The stone bench on the side of the road out of Konoha. She had spent a great deal of time there when she was a teenager, and it had become her sanctuary. Her refuge of sorts.

Meanwhile, Sasuke stood there, appalled at what he had done. He ran out to the street and called after the disappearing figure, distinguished only by her pink hair.

"Sakura!" he yelled, "SAKURA!"

Hinata walked over to him. "What happened, to Sakura-chan?" she asked nervously. Sasuke looked over at her. Katsu and Hokuro were standing a few feet behind her, and little Hanako came running up from behind him and hid behind Hinata's legs.

"Hinata-chan, please take Katsu, Hokuro and Hanako to your place. I need to find Sakura." he said, then turning to go inside, he added, "If you see her, please tell her that I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."

Hinata nodded and beckoned the children to follow her.

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**Hokage's Building**

Naruto sighed in frustration as he ran through everything that had happened in his head. He was sitting at his desk in his office and had just finished his work for the day. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in." he said in response. The door opened, revealing the street outside, and Hinata stepped in. Holding onto her hands were Naruto's two children - Hitomi (who was six), and Ryou (who was eight). Naruto stood up and walked over to her, giving her a small kiss on the cheek. She blushed, but she still looked troubled. Naruto was sure that it couldn't be more than a dispute between friends, so he smiled reassuringly.

"You look troubled, Hinata-chan. What's wrong?" he asked.

Motioning to the door, Hinata bade little Hanako and her two brothers to enter. Naruto became slightly worried.

"Didn't Sasuke-teme return?" he asked her. Hinata nodded her head.

"Yes, he and Sakura are having a talk. Or rather, had a talk." said Hinata. She looked sad, and the children looked no happier.

"What do you mean, Hinata-chan?"

Before she could answer, Hanako spoke up. The little girl looked absolutely distraught.

"Daddy hit Mommy, Naruto-sama." she said tearfully, pushing her way to the front of the small group. "I heard them yelling, and then our playing ball went through the window by accident. I went inside to get it, and I saw Daddy hit Mommy. Then, she ran out of the house. I know I shouldn't tell on Daddy, Naruto-sama, but he didn't see me."

Naruto bent down the Hanako's level.

"Where did your mother go? Did your father follow her?" he inquired.

Hanako shook her head and Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. He stood back up and walked briskly past Hinata and the children. Hinata did not have to ask where he was going. His hands were balled into angry fists, so he was likely headed to talk to - or yell at - Sasuke. Hinata was willing to bet on the latter.

Dutifully, she showed Sakura's children to her house and got them to eat a small dinner before she shooed them off to an early bed. Then, she went out in search on Sakura. She had a good idea about where her friend would like be, so she checked there first.

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**A/N**: Sorry about the short chapter, but I hope to also have Chapter 4 up to day to make up for it!

Arien


	4. The Past

"What Happened After"

**Anime**: Naruto

**Genre**: General

**Rating**: T for mild language and other things similar.

**Author**: ariensun

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. I only own the keyboard and computer I am using, along with any and all of my OCs (obviously).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

WARNING: This chapter contains a bit of angst, and if you prefer fluffier stuff I suggest you not read it. I apologize ahead of time, but I've been in a really angst-y mood lately. However, this chapter contains a large amount of information, most of which is essential to understanding the story, especially future chapters, and the situation that Sakura and the others are in. Thank you.

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Flashbacks are in _Italics._

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Chapter 4: The Past

As Hinata walked quietly along the road that led out of Konoha, she spotted a hunched-over figure with pink hair sitting on the cold stone bench. She called out to the figure, whose face was hidden by the hair that fell around her face.

"Sakura-chan!"

Sakura sat up and looked toward the voice. She felt inclined to run, because she just wanted to be alone, but she knew that her legs would not carry her very far right now. So Sakura waited for Hinata to sit beside her.

Hinata inspected her friend. There were bruises on her arms and wrists, like someone - it was obviously Sasuke - had held her forcefully. There was another bruise on her cheek, and her left eye was swollen to the point in was a wonder that she could judge distances properly. Her face was tear streaked, and looking down Hinata saw that she hadn't even bothered to grab her shoes on the way out the door. There were cuts, scrapes, and bruised on Sakura's legs, like she had fallen continuously. The girl was a mess and immediately, Hinata took her into her arms.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan." she said kindly and quietly, "But please know that you are always welcome with Naruto-kun and I."

Sakura continued to cry on her friend's shoulder, and after a while she sat back up and made eye contact.

"Hinata-chan, why is this happening to me? Why is it that I can't decide between them? Am I selfish for wanting to stay friends with both Itachi-kun and Sasuke-kun?" she asked.

Hinata was silent, and Sakura continued speaking. "It's just so screwed up, that I don't know what to do anymore! I'm a grown woman and I have no idea how to deal with this! I just wish that Sasuke-kun would understand! Itachi-kun is the only person to every fully return my feelings from the beginning, and who hasn't gone off and gotten themselves killed!" She ranted, "Lee's dead, Gaara's dead, even that bastard Sai got himself killed! And the only person who was there to comfort me when Sasuke was gone and Naruto was training was Kakashi, and he went off and got himself killed too!"

"People die, Sakura-chan." said Hinata, "It's not your fault that they died. You did everything you could to save them. It just…happens."

"Then why didn't I die?" demanded Sakura, "Why is it that when we want to die we live, and when we want to live, we die?"

"Do you really want to die, Sakura-chan?" asked Hinata, "Still?"

Sakura was silent. She couldn't think of an answer. Did she want to die? She didn't know. Not now, anyway. When Sakura didn't speak, Hinata found herself thinking about the 'pre-Itachi; post-Sasuke' Sakura.

_Hinata held Sakura comfortingly in her arms as she cried in her hospital bed. The bandages that had previously covered Sakura's arms had been removed and her cuts had been healed by medic-nins, leaving only small scars that would fade in time._

_It had been a year since Sasuke had left, and Sakura had fallen into a deep depression. Naruto was off training with Jiraiya now, and Sakura spent her days alone, or training with Tsunade._

_Sakura lifted her head up. "Hinata-chan?"_

"_Yes, Sakura-chan?"_

"_Why did they all leave me? Why did they have to go?"_

"_I-I, don't know, Sakura-chan." Hinata confessed._

Then, four years later, Sasuke had not yet returned, but Itachi came to Konoha in search of information on Orochimaru.

_He came storming into the Hokage's building while Sakura had been in the midst of a training session with Tsunade._

"_Are you Tsunade?" he asked, while the Hokage shoved Sakura behind the desk. The teenager peered out at the man who had entered._

_He had long dark hair that was tied back in a low ponytail. His eyes were red with Sharingan, and he was wearing a black Akatsuki cloak with red cloud designs._

"_Where is Orochimaru?" he demanded._

"_I do not know." replied Tsunade, "And if I did I would not give that information to you, Uchiha Itachi."_

_Uchiha Itachi? thought Sakura; So this is Sasuke's elder brother._

_Itachi's eyes shifted to the younger woman in the room._

"_Stand up, Sakura." said Tsunade, "There is no point in hiding now."_

_Sakura did as she was told, and stood up._

_Itachi addressed her and asked, "Well then, what will you tell me of Orochimaru?" _

_Sakura didn't answer and Itachi advanced towards her. It was then that he finally recognized the girl. He remembered a little girl with pink hair who was always fawning over his idiot little brother. They had met before, but she had been practically terrified of him. He smirked._

"_Haruno Sakura."_

_They locked eyes._

That was how it started.

Less that a year later, Sakura gave birth to twins and surprisingly let Itachi help name them. Together they decided on Mainyu for the elder and Yoshiko for the younger.

When the twins were barely six years old, Sakura went on her first mission in a long while. It was a medic mission to Suna, where a huge battle had taken place. Sakura already knew about the battle because Naruto, Lee, Kakashi, Shikamaru, Kiba, Shino, Neji, and even Tenten and Ino had gone to fight in it. Hinata had stayed behind with Sakura and continued her medic training. Hinata was not to go with her on this mission, though.

_As Sakura neared the bloody battlefield, she saw a figure in a black cloak lying on the ground in a small puddle of blood. There was a kunai stuck in his chest, and Sakura spotted a familiar face on the young man lying near Itachi. It was Sasuke. At first she was surprised, she had almost been hoping he would be dead. She still loved him, but more like a brother now._

_Sakura ran quickly to Itachi's side and bent over him. Tears began to form in her eyes at the pain that showed on his face when she gently pulled the kunai out. He looked at her._

"_Sakura…chan…"_

_Sakura placed her hands on his chest and healed his wounds successfully. She wasn't one of the top medic-nins for nothing, after all. Seven years of training had taught her well. Still, Itachi's eyes began to droop._

"_Itachi-kun." she whispered gently, "You're going to be alright. I won't let you die. I'll stay here, so that you can see our children again."_

_He smiled a rare smile. "I know…Sakura-chan, but…there are others…who need healing…"_

_Sakura shook her head stubbornly._

"_No. I won't leave you." she said firmly. _

_Itachi reached up and touched her cheek with his hand. _

"_Go…I promise you…I'll live…I'm an Uchiha, after all…and you will be too…if you want…"_

_Sakura's eyes shot open in surprise. "Do you mean - ?"_

_Itachi smiled again, just for her. "Yes…but you have to leave me be now…"_

_Sakura lingered for another moment then nodded. She stood up and hurried towards where the heavier action had taken place, seeking out familiar faces. But she had lingered with Itachi for too long. She spotted Lee first, but he was already gone, as were Chouji and Shino. So was Gaara, and he was surrounded by his sand. His gourd was broken, too. Kakashi was dying, and took his last breath only moments before Sakura could save him. She could have sworn she heard him say 'Congratulations', though. Some of her friends were still alive, miraculously. Ino and Tenten were barely breathing, but Sakura got to them in time, and Shikamaru, Kiba, and Neji only had a few deep cuts. She healed them and went in search of Naruto._

_She found him lying in a pool of blood. She rushed over to her friend. The only one who had not yelled at her about her daughters being born, for even Kakashi had disapproved._

"_Naruto-kun, hold on." she begged him. He smiled._

"_Sakura-chan. I'm happy for you." he said quietly, "I want you to know that…in case…I die."_

_Sakura shook her head. She wouldn't let her friend die that easily. As she healed his wounds, she said quietly._

"_You have to live, Naruto. Because I'm going to make you come to my wedding."_

_He smiled, and closed his eyes. But his pulse was steady, and Sakura carried him over to where the others had gathered around Sasuke. Then, she knelt down beside her childhood crush._

_There wasn't much she could do, though. She healed his wounds like with everyone else, and got his heartbeat to become at least close to stable. But she kept glancing discreetly over at Itachi, who was watching her from the corner of his eye. He was the last thing she saw before she fainted from chakra loss, having transferred to much of it too the others._

That was the last time she saw him for seven years. She ended up marrying Sasuke instead, and became Uchiha Sakura anyway. She gave birth to two sons, and it was when they were six and three that she saw Itachi again.

_She shivered and wrapped her jacket around her tighter. She had just put Katsu and Hokuro in bed, and was on her way to visit Naruto and Hinata to check up on her other two children. She had thought it would be best not to tell Sasuke about the twins. After all, he believed that Itachi was dead, and he was finally at peace with himself. Itachi, of course, was not dead, and Sakura usually met him in the Uchiha Training Grounds when Sasuke was out on long missions like he was now. Sasuke was not due to come home for another few weeks, so she had invited Itachi to stay in one of the houses in the Uchiha Compound to 'keep her company' as long as no one else saw him. To her surprise and delight, he had agreed._

_She came to Naruto and Hinata's house. It was near the Hokage's building. As she walked down the street, she could see Hinata chasing after a little girl with crimson hair. Sakura picked up her pace and laughed when the little girl spotted her and ran up to her._

"_Mommy!" she cried, "I missed you, mommy!"_

_Sakura picked up the girl and carried her over to Hinata, then set her down. Hinata - who had just recently become Uzumaki Hinata - looked completely exhausted._

"_I see you've been keeping Hinata-chan busy, haven't you, Mainyu?" observed Sakura._

"_She's quite a handful, that's for sure." said Hinata, then raised and eyebrow, "Not unlike her father."_

_Sakura got the hint. "Oh! Yes, I'm supposed to meet Itachi-kun in a few minutes. If you don't mind, he mentioned last time that he'd like to see the girls. Could they come stay with me for a few nights?"_

_Hinata nodded. "Of course. Yoshiko is already asleep, though."_

_Sakura thought for a moment. "Itachi-kun is staying for a few nights, so why don't you bring her over tomorrow morning?"_

"_Sure." Hinata agreed, "You should get going, Sakura-chan."_

_Sakura picked Mainyu up again and the girl smiled happily._

"_Is Father here?" she asked._

_Sakura nodded. "Yes, and you can come stay with us for a few days, if you want to."_

_Mainyu clapped her hands happily. "Oh yes! Yes please, mommy!"_

_Sakura laughed and said god bye to Hinata, asking her to say hello to Naruto for her. She made her way back to her own house, then, and found Itachi to be standing in front of the door. Upon seeing her father, Mainyu jumped down from her mothers arms and rushed into Itachi's._

_Sakura walked up to him and he kissed her on the lips. Mainyu made a face and Sakura laughed._

_Later, when Sakura and Itachi had put Mainyu to bed, they sat in Sakura's house, on the couch._

"_Sakura, when are you planning to start the girls at the Academy?" asked Itachi, "They're well past old enough now that they're seven years old."_

"_I was actually going to start them in the next term. It's June now, so the girls are going to be turning eight in two months. I wanted to start them this past year, but I haven't been able to get enough time away from Sasuke to be around them much." said Sakura, "Naruto-san has been training them with Hinata-chan's help, though. Mainyu's actually quite the little kunoichi already."_

_Itachi nodded. "Would you mind if I trained them instead?" he asked, "I don't see them much, and I would like to chance to get to know them."_

_Sakura thought for a moment, then agreed. "Of course. Only until the next term at the Academy, though. I would like them to have the chance to obtain proper ranks."_

_Itachi nodded again. "Thank you."_

_Sakura smiled._

Itachi stayed for a whole week after that, and trained with the girls everyday. When at last he was to leave, he spoke with Sakura again.

"_Sakura-chan, would it be alright if I just trained Mainyu?" he asked, "I know that you want Yoshiko to become a medic-nin, and I am obviously no good in that area. Also, she seems less enthusiastic about it than Mainyu. She doesn't want to leave Konoha."_

_Sakura sighed. "I would rather them not be separated, but if you can swear to me that you will bring her back, I don't see why not."_

_Itachi simply nodded._

He didn't return, though, and Sakura was slightly angry at him for this. She enrolled Yoshiko in the Academy anyway, and her younger daughter graduated as a Genin that same year. Both girls were strong like their father, and by age eleven Yoshiko was already a Chuunin.

No one but Sakura, Naruto, Hinata, and Yoshiko knew that Itachi was Yoshiko's father, and the little girl dyed her hair blonde instead of the red. She was afraid that people would find out about her father and shun her for it. After all, she had learned all about what people thought of him. She was made fun of for it by some of the young shinobi in the village, who would often taunt her by saying things like 'Are you sure your father's the Hokage?' and calling her 'Uchiha Yoshiko', which she didn't mind, but she found the way they said it offensive.

Sakura knew that her daughter was raising suspicions, but she did everything in her power to keep them to a minimum. To people who suspected that she had saved Itachi and that he wasn't dead she said - although it still pained her to do so - 'Why would I save him?'.

When Yoshiko was thirteen, Mainyu returned to Konoha. Sakura was glad to see her when she passed her by in the street, and even embraced her, but Mainyu had become too much like her father used to be. Her eldest daughter had come in search of her childhood friend, who was Ino's daughter, Shizuka. Mainyu had not come to speak with Shizuka, but to kill her. Mainyu had come in search of the Mangekyou Sharingan, just like her father before her.

Sakura tried to stop her, but failed, and Yoshiko watched as her sister killed the girl who was also her best friend. Mainyu saw her, but did not recognize her because of her blonde hair and Chuunin vest. Mainyu left Konoha and did not return, and Sakura had not seen or heard of her eldest child until Sasuke met her in the woods.

And thus, the troubles and the real story began.

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**A/N:** Whew! That's a lot of typing in one day! I hope that this clears a few things up, because that's why I wrote it. Jut remember, if you ever get confused, just re-read this chapter and I hope you will become…_less_ confused.

Anyway, again I apologize that I updated later than expected. Oh! And don't forget to R&R!

Arien.


	5. Acceptance

"What Happened After"

**Anime**: Naruto

**Genre**: General

**Rating**: T for mild language and other things similar.

**Author**: ariensun

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. I only own the keyboard and computer I am using, along with any and all of my OCs (obviously).

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Chapter 5: Apologies

Sasuke couldn't do it. He could do many, many things, but he couldn't gather enough courage to walk down the street to find her. That was when Naruto found him, lingering between going back inside and starting to walk.

The blonde was pissed, Sasuke could see that, and it was confirmed when the said Uchiha was punched square in the jaw.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Sasuke-teme?" Naruto demanded angrily. When Sasuke rose Naruto punched him again, sending him flying into the wall of the house.

Sasuke stood up and blocked Naruto next attacks. When the blonde had finally cooled off, they were both breathing hard. Sasuke sat down breathlessly on the wooden step in front of the door.

"She's really upset, you know." said Naruto, sitting down on Sasuke's right. The other boy was staring straight ahead, only half-hearing what had been said. He was still trying to comprehend how he could loose it like that. Naruto, on the other hand, knew the answer to this question. It was one simple word that no one dared mention around Sasuke for fear of him doing just what he did - loose it - and the word was Itachi.

"I know."

Naruto frowned. "Are you going to apologize to her?"

Sasuke turned his head to face his friend. "She slept with him, Naruto." he stated incredulously, "She **slept** with **Itachi**."

Naruto looked down at the ground. "You know, I was just starting to believe our lives were becoming normal." he said with a laugh, fully understanding the weight of Sasuke's words but trying to lighten the mood, even if it was in just the tiniest bit. "It's not even fun anymore!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at Naruto. "Anymore?" he inquired.

"Point taken." said Naruto, laughing along with his former team mate.

When the laughter died down, Sasuke sat up straight and leaned again the door. Naruto turned his head towards the Uchiha, who, after a few moments of silence, asked,

"Did you know? About Sakura-chan and Itachi."

Naruto sighed and ran a hand through his short hair. "Yeah. I didn't tell you because Sakura-chan didn't want _this_ to happen."

"Please tell me there's only one child." Sasuke said hopefully. His eyes were closed but Naruto could see the pain behind them. He didn't bother answering and Sasuke gave no reaction other than to ask,

"How many?"

"Just one other." said Naruto, and as a clue to her identity he added, "She's got dark eyes and blonde hair. She still lives in Konoha."

Sasuke opened his eyes and glared at his friend. "You just described half the Genins in the village, baka."

The blonde grinned slyly. "Yoshiko-chan is no Genin, I promise you." he said.

"Yoshiko…where've I heard that name before?" Sasuke wondered thoughtfully.

"She's this generation's protégé." grinned Naruto, "She's a Jounin at fourteen."

Sasuke's head shot up and he half-glared at Naruto. "You are going to tell me exactly what happened, from the beginning." he demanded, "Every. Detail."

And Naruto did.

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**With Sakura**

"Thank you for staying here with me, Hinata," said Sakura, wiping the last of her tears from her eyes and standing up, "But I think I should go home. I know that we can work things out."

Hinata stood up also when there was a shout heard from down the road. The women turned their heads to Sasuke and Naruto running up to them.

"Sakura-chan!" called Sasuke, "Sakura-chan, Naruto told me everything." He ran up to and embraced a surprised Sakura, but she son returned the warm embrace. "I'm sorry, Sakura-chan." he whispered in her ear, "Forgive me...again?"

Sakura nodded. "Yes, of course I forgive you, Sasuke-kun."

Sakura received a further surprise when Sasuke smiled once they had separated

"Sakura?"

"Yes, Sasuke-kun?"

"Can I meet my niece?"

Sakura's eyes lit up and she let out tears of joy, so thankful that this could work out. She launched herself at Sasuke who surrendered a single-syllable laugh.

"Yes," she agreed, "Yes, you can."

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**The Next Day - Training Grounds**

Fourteen year old Uchiha Yoshiko was training. She was determined to get in some last minute self-training before she had a group of annoying Genins under her supervision, which would happen in a few days.

She still lived with Naruto-san and Hinata-san, but often arrived home later that them. She had arrived home earlier than usual the previous night, at around nine o'clock in the evening, and been told my Naruto-san that her mother wished to meet with her at the training ground in the morning. So here she was, training with her kunais and Sharingan while she waited.

With an anxious teenage-girl anticipation she wondered if her father had at last returned to Konoha. It had been many years since she had last seen him, and it had been a full year since she had seen her twin sister.

She sensed her mother's charka approaching and placed her weapons back into their pouch, which was strapped to her thigh. There was a second charka signature with her mother's, though. She recognized it, although her was rarely around its owner.

She turned around to her mother and Uchiha Sasuke standing in front of her. She deactivated her Sharingan and stood where she was. When her mother was closer to her, she embraced her.

"Mother. It's good to speak with you in the open." she said, stepping back, "Why did you ask to see me? Has Father returned to the village?" she asked the last question quietly. She knew all about the Uchiha massacre, as every Academy student learned about it as a part of their Historical Studies.

Sakura shook her head once discreetly and saw her hopeful daughter's face fall. She have Yoshiko a sympathetic look, and the girl nodded understandingly. Sakura resumed her place beside Sasuke.

"Yoshiko, this is your uncle, Uchiha Sasuke. He's your father's _otouto_." Sakura introduced him.

Yoshiko smiled kindly and held her hand out in greeting. Sasuke shook it. The three of them sat down on the summer grass and began speaking and filling each other in on the goings-on of their respective lives. Sasuke studied his niece.

She had blonde hair that was obviously dyed, and dark eyes that mirrored his own. Sasuke was not surprised that she had a powerful Sharingan, and remembered thinking 'Thank gods' when he say that they were not Mangekyou Sharingan like her sister's. Yoshiko was wearing a pair of tight, red shorts under her white kunoichi dress, which was decorated only by the cherry blossom design that covered it. Her blonde hair fell loosely just past her shoulders, and just barely touched the Jounin vest she was wearing over her dress.

He had watched her train from a distance before she had noticed them. She had perfect accuracy with her kunais and perfect charka control. She had the blank, almost unemotional 'Uchiha look' to her eyes for most of the time she was sitting across from him.

At around noon, Yoshiko stood up and the two adults did so as well.

"Mother, Sasuke-san, I must go now." she said, hugging her mother, "Ino-san asked me to take care of her squad today, for practice."

Sakura smiled. "That's alright, Yoshiko. Please say hello to Ino-chan for me, and make sure Katsu trains hard."

Yoshiko laughed. "I will mother." she said, then looked over at her uncle. After a moment he led his arms open and she accepted the invitation for a hug. Beore he let go she whispered,

"I hope you can accept me as your niece, Sasuke-san, even though I am the daughter of Uchiha Itachi."

She stepped back and Sasuke was surprised for a moment before his features softened kindly. Sakura was watching him like a worried hawk, and was equally surprised at the words the two were exchanging.

"You aren't anything like him, Yoshiko." he assured her, "And I have already accepted you as a talented kunoichi."

Yoshiko smiled. "Thank you, Sasuke-san. And please don't worry, because I promise you that your aniki - my father - was good to my mother. He still would be if he were to see her again."

Sasuke nodded, amazed by the girl's level of maturity. "I have no doubt. She would not have saved him if that was not true."

Yoshiko nodded and hurried off after one last glance at her mother. Sakura looked at Sasuke, genuinely, though pleasantly, surprised.

"I never would have thought that a meeting between you and Yoshiko-chan could go so well, Sasuke-kun." she stated in half-wonder.

Sasuke nodded. He was quite surprised, too. Then again, it was not her fault that Itachi was her father. "I forgave you, didn't I?"

"Did you now?" asked Sakura slyly.

Sasuke wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her.

"Yes, I did, Sakura-_chan_."

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**A/N:** I actually wrote this on the weekend, same as chapters 3 and 4, but didn't get around to posting it until today. Unfortunately, chapter six is going to be a few days. Also, I hope to get five more reviews before I post it. Constructive criticism and even flames help me to better my writing, so both are welcome. Thanks for reading, and hopefully reviewing!

**Another Author's Note:** _Otouto_ means 'little brother' in Japanese, and _Aniki_ means 'elder brother'.

Arien


	6. Chuunin Exams, Part 1

"What Happened After"

**Anime**: Naruto

**Genre**: General

**Rating**: T for mild language and other things similar.

**Author**: ariensun

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. I only own the keyboard and computer I am using, along with any and all of my OCs (obviously).

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Chapter 6: Chuunin Exams, Part 1

Sakura was standing in the kitchen one morning almost three months after Yoshiko and Sasuke's meeting making breakfast, when Katsu ran past her.

"Where are you off to so quickly, Katsu-kun?" Sakura asked. She was in a pleasant mood that morning, because Sasuke had recently agreed to her proposal of letting Yoshiko come live in the Uchiha Compound. He had taken quite a liking to his niece, it seemed. Sakura felt as if her prayers had been answered.

Katsu stopped and grabbed a piece of toast from the table, and then answered.

"Ino-sensei is going to tell us if we're entered in the exams today, and I heard from Suzume-chan that her sensei said that Ino-sensei did enter us!" he said excitedly, placing the piece of toast between his teeth and slipping on his sandals.

Sakura nodded and let him continue on outside. When she had set three plates at the table, she herself walked outside into the fresh air.

She breathed in the scent of a late-summer, early-autumn morning and walked down the road to the Uchiha Training Grounds. Silently, she watched as Sasuke and Yoshiko sparred. Hanako was off to the side, watching contentedly. After a while, Sakura cleared her throat and the two fighting stopped.

"Breakfast is ready, if anyone's interested." she announced.

In response, Sasuke's stomach let out a hungry growl. Hanako giggled and ran laughing to her cousin, you scooped her up in her arms. Sakura led them back to the house, Sasuke grumbling all the way and the girls laughing and giggling at him.

"It's really not that funny." he said, narrowing his eyes. The girls quieted down and ate their breakfast of toast and fruits quietly.

Towards the end, Sasuke asked where the boys where.

"The exams start tomorrow, so they're with the other Genins, getting in some last-minute training, I assume. Ino-chan and Shikamaru-san wouldn't have kept them for long." replied Sakura, then turned to her older daughter, "That reminds me, Yoshiko, how is your squad doing?"

"Quite well, actually." replied Yoshiko, "They're all about eleven, but I've entered all three into the exams this year. I believe that they can pass."

"Neji-san and Tenten-san's boys are on your team, right?" inquired Sasuke.

His niece nodded. "Yes, and Shizu's younger sister, Suzume. I've taken a special interest in her and have been training her separately in addition to her training with the squad. It's my responsibility, considering what happened."

Sakura nodded. "You mustn't hold it against your sister, Yoshiko."

"I agree with your mother, Yoshiko." said Sasuke, "You must not hold a grudge. I know what it can do to you."

"I know, uncle. I only wish I knew why she did it. Mainyu-chan was always different from me, always the mischievous one…but I never thought that she was capable of what she did."

It was in that moment that Sakura realized just why Sasuke had taken to Yoshiko so kindly. He saw himself in her.

Sasuke nodded and they finished their breakfast in silence. When they were done Yoshiko hurried out the door to meet her Genins, and Sasuke left to go ask Naruto about a mission. This left Sakura alone with Hanako, who was helping her mother with the dishes when she asked,

"Mommy, is Yoshiko-chan my cousin or my sister?"

Sakura sighed. "Both, but more your sister. Half-sister would be more accurate."

"Half-sister?"

Sakura sighed again. "I'll explain when you get a little older, Hanako-chan."

Hanako was disappointed, but didn't say anything else.

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**Hokage's Building**

Sasuke, Yoshiko, and the other Jounins and ANBU members had been summoned to the Hokage's office in the late afternoon. Naruto was seated at his desk, and the others were standing around the room.

"Now," began Naruto, "as you all know, the Chuunin Exams begin tomorrow-"

The doors burst open to reveal Hinata in her old Chuunin vest. She had long since given up her training for a place at the hospital as a medic-nin. Now though, she had been acting as a messenger for most of the day.

"Gomen, Naruto-kun." she said hurriedly, "Kazekage-sama wants to meet with you. He requested to speak with you, n-now."

"Tell Kankuro-san that I'll speak with him later, please, Hinata-chan. I'm sure he'll understand." replied Naruto.

Hinata nodded and hurried off to relay the news to Gaara's older brother. Naruto turned back to the others.

"Like I was saying, the exams start tomorrow, so I've asked you here so I can assign proctors to each of the exams."

Naruto pulled out a list from his desk drawer. "For the First Exam: Uchiha Sasuke. For the Second Exam: Hyuuga Neji. For the Third Exam: Yoshiko-chan, I would like you to call the matches. Also, I would like the ANBU members on hand for the second exam - which will once again be held in the Forest of Death-"

Sasuke winced at the mention, remembering his own experience in the forest. Naruto shot him a pointed look. Sasuke nodded slightly to assure his friend that he was fine. Naruto continued.

"And I would like the Jounins to watch over their squads for the duration of the Exams. There will be no mission, so absolutely no Genin leaves the village, and no Chuunin leaves without my permission. That said, I would like to re-check this year's entries. Ino?" he looked over at the blonde girl.

"I have entered all three of my Genins into the exams." said Ino, proudly.

"Shikamaru?"

"As have I."

"Tenten?"

"I've entered two of my Genins, and Neji-kun has entered on from his team to fill the space."

Naruto nodded. "And you, Yoshiko-chan?"

"I've entered all three of my Genins." Yoshiko told him confidently.

"Are you sure about this?"

Yoshiko nodded. "Yes, I am. I believe that they are ready to become Chuunins."

"Alright then." said Naruto, giving Yoshiko one last questioning glance, which she brushed off with a confident look. He practically shooed them out of his office his own un-Hokage-like manner. "Now get out of my office. I've got a pointless meeting with Kankuro." he said quite bluntly, and amazingly with a straight face.

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**The Next Day - Academy Classroom - First Exam**

Sasuke stood at the front of the classroom beside a middle-aged Iruka, and surveyed the group now seated in front of him. He looked at Iruka, who had just introduced him, then taken his leave to stand at the back of the classroom. Sasuke stepped forward.

"As Iruka-sensei has just stated, my name is Uchiha Sasuke and I will be your proctor for the First Exam." said Sasuke. He refused to stop and wait for the murmurs at his name to quiet down. "In front of you, you will se a test paper and pencil. This is your written Exam. But before you begin, there are some rules you must follow.

"No cheating. If you are caught cheating by any of the Chuunin examiners you will fail. If you fail, your other squad members fail also, and you must leave the room immediately. You have an hour to complete the test. After forty-five minutes a tenth question will be introduced. Now turn your papers over and begin."

Sasuke sat down in his chair and surveyed the group in front of his silently. He recognized most of the Leaf Genins, and there was a Sand girl who looked like her sensei, Temari. Her paid close attention to the Konoha Genins, wondering if they could figure out that they needed to cheat, but not get caught. It seems that the Hyuuga boys had caught on.

Sasuke smirked. Neji probably tipped them off so they wouldn't fail…again. They had taken the exam once before, but when it was held in Suna. Hyuuga Taro and Hyuuga Niru were a year apart.

He eyed the third member of Team Ten - Nara Suzume. The third member of Yoshiko's team was writing answers down on the paper in front of her.

The minutes ticked my, and were starting to get to Sasuke when at last the clock hit the forty-five minute mark. By this time, about half the Genins who started had already been failed. Sasuke stood back up.

"Put your pencils down." he ordered. The clattering noise that accompanied that action nearly set a vein pulsing at his temple. Sasuke may have changed over the years, but patience was not his forte. He found himself wishing he had added the word 'quietly' or even 'silently' to his sentence. The silence resumed.

"Before the tenth question, there are some new rules. If you get this question wrong, you fail. If you get this question wrong, you will not be allowed to take the Exams ever again, and will stay a Genin. If you do not wish to take the tenth question, you may forfeit. This means your team members will also fail along with you. If you forfeit, you will be allowed to take this exam another year. Those who wish to quit, raise your hand."

About half of the remaining Genins raised their hands and were failed. _And they were so close, too,_ thought Sasuke. When the quitters and failures were out of the room, Sasuke surveyed the remaining Genins. He smirked.

"Good news. You pass."

The remaining twenty-four Genins looked at him in shock. Smirk still plastered on his face, he explained.

"There is no tenth question. If you are afraid to do something because you think you will fail, you are not worthy of being a Chuunin. To be a Chuunin you need brains, and you will be chosen to lead teams on missions from time to time. If you quit, you die, and so does your team. Congratulations on making it through, and good luck. Hyuuga Neji will take you from here."

As Sasuke and Neji passed each other - Sasuke heading out the back door and Neji walking to the front - they exchange their usual, at-odds greeting accompanied by glares.

"Hyuuga."

"Uchiha."

"Hyuuga."

"Uchiha."

Neji reached the front of the classroom and waited for the door to close behind Sasuke before speaking.

"Follow me." he rounded up the 'kids' and led them to a fence with a sign reading:

'_Do Not Enter_

_Forest of Death'_

The Genins exchanged looks and Neji said, in no comforting tone,

"The Second Exam will take place in the Forest of Death."

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**A/N:** So there's Chapter 6. I'm not sure if I should write out what happens in the Second Exam, but there is a point to the Chuunin Exams being included in the story, which you will see later on in the story. I hope to get another five reviews before posting Chapter 7, so go press that wonderful purple button!

Arien


	7. Chuunin Exams, Part 2

"What Happened After"

**Anime**: Naruto

**Genre**: General

**Rating**: T for mild language and other things similar.

**Author**: ariensun

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. I only own the keyboard and computer I am using, along with any and all of my OCs (obviously).

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Chapter 7: Chuunin Exams, Part 2

At the back of a small room in the Hokage's building with the other Jounins, watching her team on one of the small screens, Uchiha Yoshiko leaned against the wall, bored. Without much interest, she watched as her team received a Heaven Scroll, and both Katsu's and Hokuro's teams received an Earth Scroll. A while later, the boys had forged an alliance between their teams while Suzume, Taro, and Niru were searching for other teams to fight.

Then something on a different screen caught the fourteen-year-old's eye. A flash of red where it shouldn't be. Now focusing intently on the screen, Yoshiko's eyes opened in surprise. She activated her Sharingan to get a clearer picture.

The red was from a pair of swiftly moving eyes headed in the direction of Katsu and Hokuro. Yoshiko returned her eyes to their normal black color. She had seen enough to know what was going on. She frowned.

"Not now, onee-san!" she whispered through closed teeth, irritated that her sister should pick _this_ time to return to the village. She turned to Naruto, who was half-asleep in his un-professional way, and leaning against the wall of the room.

"Naruto-san." she called, "Look at Screen 5 and tell me if you see what I do."

Naruto opened his eyes with a yawn , but seemed to be perfectly awake once he did so. He focused on the middle screen and did notice the same thing that Yoshiko did. He looked at Yoshiko with concern, but said,

"No. You're not going to interfere yet."

"But-!"

"No. She hasn't done anything yet."

Yoshiko looked at him incredulously. "Yet! Naruto-san, I'm not waiting until she does!"

"No." repeated Naruto, and Yoshiko leaned back against the wall with a deep frown, defeated. She just hoped that the boys would realize they were being followed…before it was too late and their pursuer decided to attack.

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**Forest of Death - Teams 4 (Ino) and 6 (Shikamaru)**

Hokuro had felt another chakra source following them for quite a while now. He turned to his brother, who must have noticed it too, because his Sharingan was activated. Hokuro had activated his when they had first entered the Forest, but Katsu had not.

Katsu picked up his pace while he ran through the forest. Once he had matched his brother's pace, he turned his head to face the other boy.

"Hokuro."

The younger boy turned his head.

"Yes?"

"Did you notice it too?" asked Katsu. Hokuro nodded.

"Yes. What do you want to do about it? They're not a Genin, judging from their chakra levels, so they're not supposed to be here. Something's not right." he said.

"I sensed that too," said Katsu. "You make the decision, but I don't think we can stay ahead of them for much longer."

"Then we'll have to fight sometime." agreed Hokuro.

"I know."

Hokuro slowed his pace, forcing his brother and their four team mates to follow suit. They came to a stop.

"Let's get this over with now." he decided.

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Yoshiko cursed quietly when she saw the boys stop and slide into a fighting stance.

"Damnit! Naruto-san…!"

Naruto sighed. "I know, Yoshiko-chan, I know.

"Naruto-san, they can't fight her." warned Yoshiko, "The only one she'll go easy on is me."

Naruto stayed silent.

"Naruto-san!" she exclaimed stubbornly.

"Calm down, Yoshiko." ordered Naruto. Yoshiko opened her mouth to protest when she was cut off by Naruto. He sighed.

"Alright. Go, but try to bring her back for good." he relented.

No soon had he said this, then did Yoshiko run off, pumping chakra to her feet to make them go faster. Naruto turned to the other Jounins in the room, which included an angered Shikamaru and an Ino who was shaking from the memories the intruder in the Forest had brought back.

Naruto brought his hand up to cover his face, worry evident through this and his closed eyes. "Oh, Kami-sama." he groaned, "Sakura-chan's going to kill me when she finds out about this."

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**With Yoshiko**

The blonde hopped over the fence that surrounded the Forest, ignoring the shouts from Neji. Her eyes were red with her Sharingan and the bottom half of her black kunoichi dress was billowing out behind her as she jumped from branch to branch. She was closing in on her sister, she could sense it, and she sped up to reach the boys before Mainyu did. She succeeded.

Yoshiko planted her feet firmly on the ground in front of the six Genins.

"Yoshiko-san!" exclaimed a surprised Hokuro.

Katsu, who was barely over a year younger than her, ran up beside her.

"Yoshiko-chan, who's following us? Why are you here?" he asked.

Yoshiko pushed him back. "Keep going." she ordered, "There's no time to explain, now go!" she exclaimed when they hesitated.

But before they could move, their pursuer caught up to them. Yoshiko narrowed her eyes at her sister, who was regarding her and the boys with her Mangekyou Sharingan eyes.

Mainyu was wearing a long black cloak over a pair of tight black shorts and a dark grey top with a red pendant around her neck. Her crimson hair was tied up in a high pony tail, that was also braided and hung down still below her shoulders.

"GO!" yelled Yoshiko, and the boys and their teams ran off, leaving the two sisters alone. They stood about ten feet apart.

"Yoshiko_-chan_, how have you been?" asked Mainyu, "Do you miss poor Shizuka-chan? Well, you should thank her for giving me these eyes."

"You can still come home, onee-chan." said Yoshiko, ignoring the comment about Shizuka. "Naruto-san hasn't declared you a missing-nin yet, or a criminal as he might have."

The elder twin sneered. "Like hell, I'll come home." he said.

Yoshiko frowned. "So you would rather be declared an S-Class criminal?" she asked.

"Do you think that threat would have worked on Father?" scoffed Mainyu.

"That's different!" exclaimed Yoshiko. Mainyu had evidently struck a nerve. "Father's crime was a massacre, yours was a single death. You can still be accepted, Mainyu-chan. Please, come home with me. Mother misses you, and so do I, onee-chan!"

"I'm not coming home, Yoshiko. Father is offering me power. What can you give me?" asked Mainyu.

"Love." said Yoshiko simply, "Love, a proper home, family, and friends."

Mainyu shook her head, but the stubbornness of Yoshiko just wouldn't have it. Naruto wanted her to bring Mainyu back home, and she was going to damn well do just that!

"Don't you want to wash the blood of your hands, Mainyu-chan?" she asked, trying to tempt her sisters emotions, as many as were left in her, anyway.

"It's too late for that, imouto-san." said Mainyu sorrowfully, "If you knew how much blood has stained my hands, you would not say that, Yoshiko."

Yoshiko regarded her sister with pity. "I have to fight you, then. I'll have to bring you home by force." She stepped into her fighting stance. Mainyu half-smiled.

"Finally, let us see who has the most skill. Who has inherited Father's power?"

"Power isn't everything, Mainyu." said Yoshiko.

"Perhaps not in Konoha, but out in the real world it is."

There were no more words exchanged as Mainyu slid into her own fighting stance. She pulled out a katana that had been hidden in her cloak, and pointed it at her sister. Yoshiko reached into the kunai pouch strapped to her thigh and pulled out four kunais. She waited for her older sister to make the first move…

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…They had been fighting for hours now, and it was dark out. Mainyu's katana was now stuck into a tree trunk, and they had been fighting with kunais, shuriken and jutsus for a while now. They were running low on chakra, too, and were breathing hard.

Yoshiko grabbed another kunai and charged at her sister, who had long since discarded her bothersome cloak. Mainyu blocked the oncoming attack with her own kunai. Yoshiko aimed a kick at her sister's side and made contact, setting the elder girl off-balance for a moment. Yoshiko took this moment to charge again, but it was too late. Mainyu had regained her balance and lashed out with the weapon in her hand, slicing across her sister's chest from the left shoulder to the right hip.

Yoshiko grimaced at the pain. She dropped her weapon and fell to her knees, nearly choking on the blood rising up her throat. Mainyu knelt down and placed the kunai at her sister's throat. Yoshiko doubted Mainyu's willpower to kill her at that particular moment. Mainyu had always enjoyed fighting, but not when her opponent was too tired or handicapped to fight back. Mainyu's hand started shaking. As Yoshiko had predicted, her sister could not bring herself to stoop that low.

With fatigue and chakra loss, Mainyu fell to her own knees, realizing that Yoshiko could actually and finally match her in skill and stamina. _I need more power, _she thought,_ Father said that, he warned me not to go, but I didn't believe him._ Those were her last thoughts before she slipped into a state of unconsciousness.

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**Five Days Later - Mainyu and Yoshiko's Hospital Room - Night**

It had been five days since the fight, and Sakura was starting to worry for her daughters, who had not yet woken from their comatose state.

It was a small fight, by all accounts, and the sisters' intentions had been only to make their opponent loose consciousness. But, they did not have the stamina or the chakra supply to last for a near-seven hour fight. Very few ninja did.

At long last, Mainyu - who was lying in the bed closest to Sakura, who was sitting by the window - began to stir. Sakura sat up straight from her trance-like watch, half-startled by the sudden movement. But then she jumped up and rushed to her daughter's bed, as Mainyu opened her black eyes. The girl sat up slowly, then grimaced with pain, realizing suddenly that there was a deep wound in her back. She looked at the pink-haired woman standing beside her, furiously wiping away tears.

"Mother? But how - ?" she began to ask, but it all came back to her. She looked at the bed to her right at her sleeping twin, whose torso was wrapped tightly in bandages. Yoshiko probably couldn't even move if she wanted to, thanks to the damage that Mainyu's last attack did. "Oh."

"Does your father know you're here?" asked Sakura, kissing her daughter on the cheek. Mainyu nodded her head.

"Yes. He told me that as my routine test he wanted me to see how much my sister had improved." Mainyu glanced once more at the bed beside hers. "She's improved a lot, and I should get out of here before he comes looking."

Sakura sighed. "Yes, same old Itachi-kun." she said. Mainyu reached out for her hand, and Sakura grasped it in her warmer one. She at looked her eldest daughter and shook her head. "Do you have any idea how _worried_ your father has made me, about you?" she demanded.

Mainyu laughed. "Actually, I do. Father said he want to see you again."

Sakura froze. "When?" she asked. Mainyu glanced past her mother at a figure, hanging upside down on a pipe on the outside wall of the hospital building. Sakura followed her daughter's gaze and jumped at what she saw. Itachi was hanging upside down and smirking.

"God, Itachi! Are you trying to scare me to death!" she demanded.

"Something like that." came the wise-crack remark from the other side of the glass. "Can I come in? Or are you still mad at me?" he asked, not phased one bit by the death glare Sakura sent his way.

"What! Do you _want_ to get caught, Itachi?" asked Sakura. _What's gotten into him lately?_ she wondered,_ He's always more careful than this!_

"What happened to the '-kun'?" he asked mockingly. Sakura glared at him.

"Get out of here, Itachi_-kun­_! Before I have some real blood on my hands because your brother is going to come in here any second looking for me!"

Itachi frowned at the mention of his brother, and right on queue the door was opened by Sasuke, who walked in.

"Sakura? I heard voices. Is Yoshiko-chan awake ye-?" that was when he noticed the swish of a black ponytail as it's owner vanished into thin air. "-What the hell is he doing here?"

Sakura laid a hand calmingly on Sasuke's shoulder. "Calm down, please, Sasuke-kun." she said softly, "He only wanted to see if Mainyu-chan was awake."

Sasuke swallowed - and to him it felt like it was his pride that was sent plummeting down through his esophagus. He turned to face the crimson-haired girl who he had met a few months before.

"Mainyu." he acknowledged her. She forced a smile for the sake of her mother.

"Sasuke..." she hesitated for a moment before adding a suffix. "…san."

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**A/N:** Just so you know, the results of the Second Exam will be announced in the next chapter, and it's just getting warmed up! Chapter Eight is on its way, and will posted if I get - yes, you guessed it - five reviews. Please and thanks for reading and dropping a review at the end.

Arien


	8. Third Exam

"What Happened After"

**Anime**: Naruto

**Genre**: General

**Rating**: T for mild language and other things similar.

**Author**: ariensun

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. I only own the keyboard and computer I am using, along with any and all of my OCs (obviously).

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Chapter 8: Third Exam

Silence passed between Mainyu and Sasuke, and Sakura looked on nervously. Looking from one to the other, she compared the cold looks they were exchanging.

"Sasuke-kun?" she spoke. He turned to the door instead of her.

"I'm going to talk to Naruto. Oh, and he wants you to get some sleep, too." he said coolly, "Tell me if Yoshiko wakes up, please, Sakura."

With that he stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him. Sakura sighed.

"So will you meet with Father?" asked Mainyu, seeing her mother looking back out the window.

"No."

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It took another day and a half for Yoshiko to fully wake up, but unlike Mainyu she was not allowed to leave her bed, or even to move her torso. It took three days of being awake in bed for her to completely lose her temper.

Sakura had taken to sleeping in the on-call room of the hospital, and when she wasn't with her daughter she was helping the nurses with other patients. One night, though, she had fallen asleep in her daughter's room and was woken up by a frustrated noise. She opened her eyes and saw Yoshiko arguing with a nurse who had brown hair. She cleared her throat and the young nurse turned to her nervously. Many of the younger ones were like that around her, because of her medic-nin status.

"Oh! I'm t-terribly s-sorry for waking you u-up, Sakura-sama, but I was e-explaining to miss Yoshiko that I c-cannot remove her bandages without p-permission."

Sakura looked at Yoshiko, who was pleading her with her eyes.

"Remove them." order Sakura.

The young nurse looked at her confusedly. "B-but Sakura-sama! H-her wound is still healing!"

"You must remove them temporarily anyway to change them, correct?" challenged Sakura. The nurse nodded timidly.

"Then when you do so I will heal the wound if it opens. Which I doubt it will do. You don't have a problem with that, right?"

The nurse shook her head. The older nurses were right when they said that Sakura was scary in the morning.

"Then change them." said Sakura, adding a polite, "Please."

"H-hai."

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"Thank you, mother." said Yoshiko, inspecting the faint scar that showed at her stomach. Sakura smiled.

"You're welcome." she replied, "Oh, and Yoshiko?"

"Yes?"

"I have to go talk with Naruto now, but I thought you should know that your father may be in later."

"He's back?" asked Yoshiko excitedly.

"Yes. I wasn't going to tell you because I don't know if he's left already or not."

Sakura smiled again and stepped out into the hall. Quickly, she made her way outside and to the Hokage's building. She knocked twice and entered. Naruto was sitting at his desk and, as always, he was buried in papers. He looked up when the door opened and Sakura chuckled. Walking up to the desk she said,

"You remind me of Tsunade-sama with that annoyed expression on your face, Naruto-kun."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Is the old granny still alive, Sakura?" he asked.

Sakura looked at him, amazed that he still made those jokes after all these years. Still, she answered his question truthfully.

"Yeah, she is." said Sakura, then added with a laugh, "And she still looks like she's twenty."

Naruto laughed. "So, why did you drop by, Sakura-chan?"

"Yoshiko finally had her bandages removed just now. I thought you should know. She's probably half-way to the training grounds already."

"And Mainyu?" Naruto asked quietly. Sakura frowned.

"Still in the cell you stuck her in."

"Sakura-" began Naruto, but Sakura cut him off.

"Why are you keeping her there?" she asked.

"Sakura, that's out of my control. If she won't stay in Konoha you know that I have to declare her a missing-nin."

"I know," said Sakura, "but can't you make an exception?"

"I'm trying." said Naruto, motioning to his desk. "Half the stuff on there is how to get her out. You know that."

Sakura nodded. "I know."

The two former team mates stood there for a moment before Sakura turned towards the door.

"Where are you going?" asked Naruto concernedly. Sakura press her lips together into a thinner line, out of worry for the fragile balance of her family.

"I'm going to tell Sasuke-kun to stop kicking the crap out of the wood posts in our training yard," she said, "I need something to hit too, you know."

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Sakura's statement was only half-correct when she said that Sasuke would be 'kicking the crap out of the wood posts'. That's what he had been doing twenty minutes ago. Now, Sasuke was lying in the shade o his back, staring up at the darkening pink blossoms of the tree above him. He was still in deep thought when Sakura found him. With a small smile, which Sasuke assumed to be fake, she sat down next to him and kissed him on the cheek.

To someone watching her, it would seem like Sakura was having a bad case of mood swings. But to someone who knew her, like Sasuke, they would simply acknowledge it as how she dealt with stress.

Sasuke looked up at her jade eyes now, instead of the pink of the tree, which would have camouflaged her hair if it had been a little lighter.

"How's Yoshiko doing?" he asked, considering it to be the safest thing to say. It would appear that he was wrong, when Sakura frowned at him disapprovingly.

"You have two nieces, you know." she said, "You might try getting to know the other on rather than treating her like you brother's incarnation."

"Sakura, even you must see that she's exactly like him. Because history's repeating itself again…because of you."

"Oh no! No, you are not going to blame this all on me, Sasuke!" she said loudly.

"Sorry." muttered Sasuke, breaking eye contact with her. Silence passed between them, and they had to brush off the occasional falling leaf or blossom from the trees around them. After a while, Sasuke looked back at his wife.

"What are we going to do about this, Sakura-chan? We lose, whatever happens, you know."

Sakura nodded. "I know that. But please, give Mainyu a chance."

"That's assuming she's getting out of that nice cell of hers." said Sasuke. Sakura brought her foot down on his ankle.

"Not funny."

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**One Week Later - Third Exam**

In front of a fully recovered Yoshiko stood fifteen Genins, all that remained of the ones who had entered the Exams.

Katsu's, Hokuro's, and Yoshiko's own Genin team were there, as well as one team from Suna. Above them on the viewing balconies, the three remaining senseis - Ino, Shikamaru, and Temari - were watching over their teams as Yoshiko got ready to announce the first match.

"You've made it this far, but you're not through yet," began Yoshiko. "The Third Exam is simply a tournament. That does not mean that only one of you will become a Chuunin, though. The Kages of both your villages will be watching, along with your senseis, and will decide who advances to Chuunin level and who will remain a Genin. Now, if you'll look up at the board you will see the first pairing."

The Genins watched as the board decided on the pairing for the first match:

Hyuuga Taro

vs.

Seth

10 of the 12 remaining Genins filed up to the balcony; leaving a brown-haired, lavender eyed boy, and a blonde-haired, dark-eyed boy from Suna to fight.

"Ready?" asked Yoshiko.

"Hai.", "Yes." the boys replied.

"Then begin."

(**A/N: I won't be writing out most of the fights, just telling you the pairings and you wins.)**

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"And the winner is Seth," announced Yoshiko as the unconscious Hyuuga boy on her team was taken away on a stretcher.

Up on the balcony - which Seth had returned to and was now standing by his team and sensei, Temari - the majority of the ten remaining Genins were hoping to not get picked for the next match. They watched the screen run through random names anxiously. Everyone was surprised to some degree by the pairing:

Uchiha Katsu

vs.

Uchiha Hokuro

The two brothers, though, grinned; each thinking how this would at least be a worthwhile fight. They hopped down from the balcony and were immediately ready to begin. After a moments hesitation, Yoshiko said:

"Begin."

By the time she had made the 'n' sound of that word, both boys were armed with weapons and Katsu had announced,

"Sharingan!"

Hokuro, who usually preferred to wait to use his Sharingan (as the slightly more patient of the brothers, though the younger) had also activated the bloodline trait.

The fight lasted a good fifteen minutes, both brothers refusing to give up and lose to the other. Ino found herself recalling her own drawn-out Chuunin Exam fight with the boys' mother, Sakura.

Hokuro was openly glaring at his older brother whenever they stopped for breath. He knew that Katsu was not nearly as tired as he was, and that the only chance of winning would be for him to use his new attack. His father had been teaching it to him, and Hokuro was glad that his mother was not watching, because she was not fond of Hokuro learning it.

Performing the hand seals he disappeared, and reappeared behind Katsu. He grabbed her brother's arm with both hand and forced a dangerous chakra out of his hands. Katsu cried out in pain before his left arm went numb, practically useless now that Hokuro had cut off the chakra flow to it from the elbow down.

Katsu flipped a kunai around and stabbed his opponent in the leg, but Hokuro was too quick, using a replacement jutsu and becoming a block of cement. Katsu looked around form the real Hokuro, who threw five shuriken at him. Four of them Katsu dodged, but the fifth hit his still-useful arm. Still, he ran towards his brother and aimed a high kick to Hokuro's jaw. But Hokuro caught it and did the same to Katsu's leg as he had done to his right arm, cutting off the chakra flow from the knee down.

Knowing that he had lost, Katsu turned to Yoshiko and raised his right hand, reluctantly and regrettably forfeiting the match.

"By forfeit, the winner is Uchiha Hokuro," said Yoshiko. "Good fight." she added, smiling at her younger, half-brothers.

Hokuro helped his brother up to the balcony and sat down beside him. At the railing, Shikamaru smiled triumphantly at Ino, his student having won. Ino glared right back at him and shoved a pile of coins under his nose, before folding her arms across her chest. She had thought that she could win _this_ bet, at least. _Damn!_ she mentally cursed, _Why does Shika always have to win?_

But both Ino's and Shikamaru's attention was caught by the third match, when Yoshiko announced it.

Nara Suzume

vs.

Hyuuga Niru

But both parents breathed a happy sigh of relief when their daughter came out victorious, and Yoshiko watched her student proudly. Of course, Neji wasn't too happy to learn that both his sons had lost their matches.

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**A/N: Gomen! So sorry about the wait! I got a little lazy…oh well, but no more excuses. Updates may get a little delayed from time to time due to school work. **

**Also: Thank you to all my wonderful reviewers:**

**-Confuzzled239**

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**-jami16**

**-Ghostboy814**

**-Hanyue-chan**

**-animedreamerz05**

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**-A Broken Cherry Blossom**

**-Redninja44**

**-The Silver Feathered Raven**

**-Ninja Skittles**

**-Armorfighter (the first one to review!)**

**Thanks for your feedback and encouragement! I love you all.**

**Arien**


	9. Chapter 9

"What Happened After"

**Anime**: Naruto

**Genre**: General

**Rating**: T for mild language and other things similar.

**Author**: ariensun

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. I only own the keyboard and computer I am using, along with any and all of my OCs (obviously).

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Chapter 9

By the end of the day, the first round of four matches had been completed. Of the Genins who had fought, Suzume, Hokuro, Hanabi's son Kenji, and Temari's pupil Seth, had advanced. Seth's team mates - Manna and Sarru, a young boy on Katsu's team named Hiroko, and Konohomaru's daughter, Akemi, were yet to fight.

There was to be a rest period of a few days for the advancing Genin to recover. A longer wait was no needed, as none of the advancing Genins were seriously hurt. The second round began about a week after the first, and also consisted of four matches.

The first match was between two of the Suna Genins - Seth and Manna - and was won by Seth, who had proved only to be quicker at dodging attacks than his opponent.

The second match was between the third member of Temari's team - Sarru - and Hokuro. Hokuro won the match, which had depended almost completely an who could outsmart whom.

The third match of the day was between Suzume and Hiroko. Suzume won easily against her younger opponent, thus eliminating the last member of Ino's Team (the female Jounin was enraged, and her husband's smug expression did nothing to brighten her disappointed and sulking mood).

The fourth and final match of the day (and round) was between two of the younger entries, Kenji and Akemi. Kenji had the clear advantage with his Byakugan. He avoided Akemi's strong attacks easily, and hit every pressure point he needed to - and then a few - in order to make her pass out. This wrapped up the un-eventful second round of the Chuunin Exams.

The week that followed saw the tensions between the winning - and losing - Genins, and their parents, mount. The older two Konoha entries, Hokuro and Suzume, were by far the favourites to make it to the final match, and both were eager to beat their competition and make their parents proud. The third and younger Konoha entry, Kenji, the son of Hyuuga Clan Leader Hyuuga Hanabi, was seen constantly through the break at the training ground. The interesting thing, though, was that Seth and his team - including their sensei - were nowhere to be found. Naruto, however, had faith that they had simply returned to the Desert for training, and that they would return in time for the third round.

Sakura, on her part, was glad to have her son's upcoming matches to think about and was concentrating on making sure he was well-fed and injury-free to ensure his spot in the finals. She was also considerably glad that Sasuke had no mission, and that the subject of Itachi - although it was always hanging over the dinner table - had not yet arisen.

Yoshiko had taken up permanent residence in the Uchiha Compound, specifically in the house beside her mothers where Itachi had stayed when the twins were younger. Sasuke did not know this, and if Sakura had anything to do about it, he never would.

These things painted the picture of the near-perfect setting, in a peaceful Konoha, but outside the gates trouble was waiting.

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**A/N: I apologize for another long wait and for the short chapter. A full and much longer Chapter 10 will be up before Christmas, I promise.**

**Arien**


	10. Changes

"What Happened After"

**Anime**: Naruto

**Genre**: General

**Rating**: T for mild language and other things similar.

**Author**: ariensun

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. I only own the keyboard and computer I am using, along with any and all of my OCs (obviously).

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Again, I should warn you about slightly more angsty stuff coming up. More ItaSaku from now on, too.

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Chapter 10: Changes

"Sakura-chan? Sakura-chan, are you home? The door's open!" Naruto popped his head through the crack beside his friend's slightly ajar door.

"Hanako, leave Hokuro alone!" he heard her voice from behind the house, scolding her daughter. A moment later the little girl came into view, Yoshiko close behind.

"Hanako! Hana-" Yoshiko spotted Naruto, who was smiling at the little girl and wondering what she had been up to now. "Oh, hello Naruto-san."

"Yoshiko," Naruto nodded at the blonde girl, whose hair was tied into a loose bun at the back of her head instead of its usual place over her shoulders. "Could you tell your mother that I came by? I'm in a hurry, but I understand if she's busy," said the blonde Hokage, turning to leave.

Yoshiko smiled. "Please, stay, Naruto-san. My mother will be in, in just a moment; as soon as I get this little one to her father. Sasuke promised to take her for the day, but I don't know where he is."

Naruto turned back around, and scooped Hanako up in his arms. "I'll take her to him. Please, tell Sakura to stop by the Hokage Building when she can. It's rather urgent."

"Hai. I will."

"Thank you, Yoshiko," said Naruto, exiting the house.

He made his way to the Academy, where Sasuke had been caught up in a special lesson for the older students that he was helping Tenten with. She had apparently promised her student an exhibition match as a reward for something-or-other. Naruto had overheard some of this from Moegi's students. The younger kunoichi had also become a sensei at the Academy, along with Udon.

He came to the classroom door and knocked.

"Enter!" came Tenten's voice.

Naruto turned the knob and entered. Their exhibition match must have been over, because Sasuke was sitting in a front corner of the classroom, evidently distracting most of the class that he was supposed to be assisting.

"Ah, Naruto-sama! What brings you here?" Tenten asked politely.

The Academy students were wide-eyed at the to legend in front of them: they had the Hokage and the Uchiha in the classroom, in the same day!

"Gomenasai, Tenten, for interrupting, but I believe that Sasuke-teme is wanted at home," he said, casting a pointed look at Sasuke, and then motioning to the little girl at his side.

Sasuke cursed under his breath. As if Sakura wasn't busy enough, he had completely forgot that he was supposed to take care of Hanako for the day. Damn! he thought. He sprang up from his seat and hurriedly followed Naruto out.

AS they walked back outside and onto the street, Sasuke smirked.

"So, what's the deal Naruto?" he asked. "Sakura said that she needed me to look after Hanako today, but when I offered to stay home she said no."

"That would be my doing," said Naruto. "I told her I needed to speak with her in private, and she said that only Hanako would be an issue because the boys would be out training."

"What can't you tell me?" asked Sasuke, almost suspicious.

"Nothing," Naruto assured him. "She just needed to get Hanako out of the house." the blonde lowered his voices. "Sakura doesn't want to worry her - or you, for that matter - but it has to do with Mainyu and…Itachi."

Sasuke's eyes grew more attentive and he quickened his walking pace. Naruto, who had been asked by Sakura not to say anything to Sasuke, found himself suddenly regretting not listening to her. He picked Hanako up and hurried after Sasuke.

"Sasuke! Sasuke, calm down!" he ordered, grabbing the Uchiha's arm tightly.

"Is Sakura okay? Where is she? Where is Itachi hiding? Naruto, does she already know?"

"I'll tell you when I tell Sakura," said Naruto. "And Sasuke? Hanako is your responsibility today - not mine."

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An hour later, Sasuke was standing in Naruto's house, along with Sakura. Yoshiko was leaning against a wall, listening intently as they spoke of her sister and father. Hinata had been given the day off by Tsunade - who still ran the hospital - and had offered to look after Hanako and the two boys for the rest of the day. Suddenly, her uncle's outburst caught Yoshiko's attention.

"She escaped? What do you mean she escaped? We had every ANBU-ranked shinobi guarding her goddamn cell, and she escaped?" asked Sasuke incredulously. He had personally hand-picked her guards, and they had let her escape!

"Yes, I think we've established that, Sasuke-teme," said Naruto coolly. "But the thing you must remember is that she had help. How many times has Itachi slipped through our fingers? Your fingers?"

"Thank you for bringing that up, Naruto-_baka_, as if I didn't realize that already!" Sasuke said in frustration.

"Why is this a problem?" Sakura cut in suddenly. "He has left us alone for a number of years."

Naruto looked at once uneasy. "He…left a note in her cell."

"What does he want?" demanded Sasuke.

Naruto looked directly at Sakura. "He wants to meet with you. He said in the note that you two have things to…resolve."

Sakura paled. "I told him already that I will not meet with him. I am sure Mainyu told him this already."

"Well, yes, but know as well as the rest of us how stubborn Itachi is. He won't take no for a answer, Sakura," said Naruto.

Sasuke looked like he was about to explode, but no one but Yoshiko seemed to notice this. That, or they were ignoring it as a regular occurrence like every time Itachi's name had come up.

"Sakura, if you don't go, Itachi will come back," said Naruto, almost worriedly. "But, it is not my decision to make. You have to decide."

Sakura nodded, still pale. "I…I will meet with him. Maybe if I speak to him, this will all end." _Before I have to choose,_ Sakura added silently to herself.

"No!" exclaimed Sasuke. "I won't allow you to put yourself in that much danger, Sakura-chan. He is too dangerous."

"He won't lay a hand on me, Sasuke-kun," Sakura assured him. "I promise."

"I'm more worried about him laying a _kunai_ on you," Sasuke replied.

"I will be safe, I assure you. I can take care of myself, thank-you-very-much, Sasuke-kun," Sakura bit back. She turned to Naruto. "When and where?"

"Tonight, after you put the kids to bed, I suppose. In the forest just outside Konoha," Naruto replied. "He said that you would know where to find him."

Sakura nodded. "Arigato, Naruto-san." With that she turned on her heel and left, not waiting for Sasuke. Yoshiko followed her out with a nod from Naruto.

"Mother," she began, catching up to the pink-haired woman. "Mother, you cannot go alone. At least let me come, if you don't want Sasuke-san."

Sakura smiled. "You want to see him again, don't you."

"Yes," Yoshiko nodded. "I want to know him again. He loved us, even if he didn't show it. I know it."

"I know. I just wish that Sasuke-kun understood that too. I wish he would just let it go." Sakura replied.

"Who…" Yoshiko, who knew her mother's situation, debated if she should ask her mother the question.

"Who would I choose?"

"Yes."

"I don't know." Sakura confessed as the two continued on down the street. It was already nearing five in the evening, and she still had to cook dinner. They came to the gates to the Uchiha compound, and walked towards the house. "Yoshiko, will you be at dinner tonight?"

"Hai, I will."

"Good. I don't think I could handle a dinner with just Sasuke-kun, since Hanako and the boys are staying with Hinata for the night. He's not in the best of moods, and my agreeing to meet with Itachi-kun didn't help at all."

"Sasuke-san really does hate Father, doesn't he?" Yoshiko stated with a frown.

"Yes, he does. I don't even know if…if I would choose him over your Father."

Yoshiko placed her hand on her mother's arm in comfort. "You'll figure it out, Mother. You're the smartest woman I know - apart from Tsunade-baa-chan, of course."

"Yoshiko! Of all the things you had to pick up from Naruto!" Sakura scolded her. She had hoped that her daughter would gain some respect for the aging woman - mind, she was aging _quite_ gracefully - but it seemed that too many years with Naruto hadn't helped the girl's respect any.

"Gomen," said Yoshiko, opening the door to her own house. "It's a habit."

"I know," Sakura smiled. "I'll see you in a couple hours."

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**Later - Night - With Sakura**

Sakura had changed into a pair of comfortable boots and a good fighting outfit. She did not expect a fight, but she thought it was better to be safe than, well, not. Besides, it was easy to move around in. Her old kunai pouch was strapped to her thigh and her forehead protector was tied loosely around her neck.

It was dark outside except for the light coming from the half-moon. She had not let Yoshiko come with her, so she was alone as she sped through the forest. She understood what Itachi had meant when he had written that she would know where to go. She was headed to a clearing a good way from the gates. It was where they had first kissed, all those years ago. She arrived in the clearing and caught her breath. Moments later, a figure in a black cloak appeared from the shadows and stood just barely in the moonlight that was shining down perfectly into the clearing.

"Sakura. I didn't think you would come."

"Sasuke tried to stop me," Sakura responded, approaching Itachi. "But I wanted to see you again. Everyone is telling me that I have to choose between you and him, but I don't know who I would choose."

Itachi moved closer to her. She could feel the heat of his body, he was so close. Being married it should have felt odd, but to her it felt almost like…_home_. It was _comforting_, being this close to Itachi.

"Don't listen to him, Sakura. You'll be safer if you choose him. Mainyu and I are building a new Akatsuki." Itachi told her.

Sakura closed her eyes. "Itachi…please don't do this. Don't make me fall in love with you again. I'm meant to be with Sasuke. And my sons need me. Hokuro, he's going to make to the finals in the Chuunin Exams, I just know it. I have to stay with Sasuke."

"Do you want to stay with him? Word travels, Sakura. I know what your relationship is like."

"It was fine until he found out about you! If you had just stayed hidden that one day during his mission, then our relationship would have been fine!" Sakura retorted.

"Sakura, I have spies in Konoha. Spies that see _everything_ and report back to _me_. I know that he hit you. And I know it wasn't the last time."

Sakura's eyes fluttered open, and it didn't take Itachi's Sharingan to see the pain behind them.

"I'm doing this for my boys, and Hanako. Yoshiko is happy the way things are. That is all that matters to me," Sakura spoke with her usual confidence.

"Sakura…"

"I'm sorry, Itachi. I should…I should go. I shouldn't have come," said Sakura, turning to leave; but Itachi appeared in front of her again.

"Sakura, listen to me. He is not worth your time. You miss me, and Yoshiko does too, I'm sure. Just…do something for yourself for once. Hinata and Naruto are there for the boys, but if things go on like this, I don't know what my idiot brother will do," said Itachi. "He hates me, Sakura. He's probably got one of his ANBU following you tonight."

Sakura looked around.

"Don't worry. They're already dead."

Sakura's head snapped back towards Itachi.

"Just promise me, Sakura, that you'll meet me back tomorrow night. You should bring Yoshiko."

Sakura was silent for a moment before nodding. "I promise," she said.

"Good. If he hurts you, just, get out of there. I hate it when you cry."

Sakura smiled. "I know. I will."

Itachi nodded and disappeared back into the shadows. Sakura turned for home.

_Oh, Kami-sama, what have I gotten myself into this time?_ she wondered.

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The next night, Sakura returned to the clearing, but again Yoshiko did not go with her. The girl had been caught up with her duties with her team, and helping Hokuro prepare for the upcoming match.

It soon became a habit. Sakura would wait until midnight, when Sasuke had gone to sleep, to sneak out and meet Itachi in the same clearing. For a long time, it was just the two of them, and occasionally Mainyu would accompany her father. It was two full weeks before Yoshiko was able to go.

The girl and her mother came to the clearing, where Itachi and Mainyu were waiting for them. The two adults embraced quickly, and Sakura looked at the three others. It was finally them. They were a family again.

Mainyu led Yoshiko into the forest while Sakura and Itachi sat on the forest floor and spoke.

"Hokuro made it to the finals, as I hoped," said Sakura. "The match is in three weeks."

"Who is he fighting?" asked Itachi.

"…Suzume."

"Ah," was all Itachi said.

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**With Mainyu and Yoshiko**

"I miss you, Mainyu-onee-chan," said Yoshiko as the two sisters walked through the trees, further away from their parents. "Sasuke-san really isn't that bad. He will accept you."

"Yeah, just like he'll let Father live as his neighbour," sneered Mainyu.

"You can take down that wall of crap you put up for Father, around me, you know," Yoshiko frowned. "You know just as well as I that you can come back. Naruto-san has already said that if you come back of your own decision, he will take away the death penalty from your trial."

"And if I don't?" asked Mainyu, still keeping most of her mental wall up.

"That's self-explanatory, I think," said Yoshiko.

"And Father? He will be killed by someone. He's hated in Konoha, you know that."

"But you aren't."

"I want to stay with Father," said Mainyu, turning around to head back, as a way to end their conversation sooner. Yoshiko followed her.

"Don't be stupid, Mainyu. All he has given you is a life of murder. Has he showed you love?"

Mainyu was silent.

"Mainyu, just come home with mother and I."

"Stop trying to fix everything yourself, Yoshiko!" Mainyu snapped, then added in a quieter voice. "Everything is going to work out. Don't you worry."

"You and Father have a plan then?"

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**With Sakura and Itachi**

"Itachi-kun, if you have a plan, you must tell me," urged Sakura, sitting across from the elder Uchiha brother.

"It's not so much a plan as a…mission," replied Itachi. "If we fail, we will try again."

"Who will end up dead?" Sakura said, her face straight. It was Itachi she was talking to, after all. He was still a killer, no matter how much she trusted him.

"No one. It's only information gathering," Itachi assured her. "But, tell Sasuke to watch his back, hm?

"Itachi," Sakura began slowly, but Itachi suddenly stood up. "What is it?"

"Get out of here," he ordered.

"What?"

"Get out of here! Don't you sense that chakra?"

That's when she felt it - she could recognize that chakra anywhere. _Sasuke_.

"Don't hurt him, Itachi-kun!" she whispered as she ran past him.

"No promises," he called after her.

"Yoshiko! Mainyu! Girls, get out of here!" Sakura yelled into the forest, trusting them to find they're own way. She - and Itachi - knew that Sasuke would be angry - very angry.

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**A/N: yes, it's a bit of an evil cliffie, but I hope to get more chapters finished over the winter holidays.**

**Which reminds me: Season's Greetings! Happy Holidays! Have Fun! New Chapter up by New Years! lol XD**

**Arien**


	11. Of Uchihas and Cherry Blossoms

"What Happened After"

**Anime**: Naruto

**Genre**: General

**Rating**: T for mild language and other things similar.

**Author**: ariensun

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. I only own the keyboard and computer I am using, along with any and all of my OCs (obviously).

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**Authors Note**: Happy New Years, everybody! Unfortunately, New Years means January, and January means exams. I might get a few updates in, but I apologize ahead of time if I don't. And now, onto the chapter!

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Chapter 11: Of Uchihas and Cherry Blossoms

Sakura finally arrived home to find Katsu, Hokuro and Hanako awake and waiting for her - or Sasuke.

"Mommy! Daddy went looking for you," Said Hanako, running up to her mother. Sakura picked her up, out of habit if nothing else, and placed a kiss on her forehead. She looked to the two brothers.

"Dad said something about 'killing someone'," said Katsu. "That's what woke us up."

"Where is he?" asked Hokuro. "Yoshiko-chan isn't home, either."

Sakura sighed. Maybe things were going to end up being harder on her kids than she had first thought. Certainly, if things didn't get much better… "Everything's fine, Hokuro. You three go back to bed," Sakura ordered. "Katsu, carry your sister up, will you?" She set Hanako down without another word.

The boy nodded and led the way up the stairs. Sakura watched them go, wondering how much longer she could keep lying to them. She had known the she would have to face choosing between Sasuke and Itachi one day, from the day of her wedding to Sasuke. But, she had hoped dearly that it would somehow pass her by. She had hoped dearly that perhaps, by the time tha subject of Itachi came up, Sasuke would have gained enough self-control to keep himself from fuming at the simple name. Six letters, that's all it took to make her world crumble, whether they formed to make the name 'Sasuke' or 'Itachi'. Yet, even after all the long years, all the time that Sasuke had spent building up a wall between him and his past, and all the lies Sakura told him to help with that task, it only took one second - a single glimpse of Mangekyou Sharingan - to make his wall and her world, crumble.

"Everything is fine," she repeated to herself, then frowned in worry. "Everything is not fine."

Sakura wandered back outside and closed the door gently behind her. She sat down on the cold steps and leant back on her elbows to look up at the sky. Sasuke and Itachi were fighting under the same sky - blood would be spilt under the same sky - and under the same sky, a blonde teenager approached her, breathing heavily from running. Behind the blonde stood a red-haired girl with onyx eyes. Sakura sat up when she felt the two similar chakra signatures in front of her.

"Mainyu?" she asked in disbelief, looking at the cloaked girl. She had full expected her to go back to her father.

"Yoshiko-chan has convinced me. I have come back, to stay this time. I want to repent for everything I've done. I'm sorry, Mother," said the girl, a faint smile on her lips. She had forgotten how quiet and peaceful the Village was at night. She felt at ease, knowing that no one would be hunting her come morning; that she would not have to kill anyone who came near her with a kunai. Knowing that maybe, by doing this, she was helping her mother. Maybe, by doing this, her father and mother would truly re-bond around the two sisters. So, in her mind, if she was helping her mother, and she could rest at least for a while from all the running and hiding and forest undergrowth, why not come back? And, her admitted to herself, it would be nice to see someone smile, for Kami knew that her father rarely did. A life devoid of happiness…well, let's just say it didn't look so appealing to her now that she had talked to her mother. Of course, maybe all this reasoning was her mind's way of not surrendering to the thought that maybe, just maybe, her sister had won. Just because she wanted to change, and just because Yoshiko had tempted her back into Konoha didn't mean that she was going to give up on sibling rivalry.

Sakura couldn't hold back her smile. She rose and enveloped both the twins in her arms.

"I've finally got both my girls back," Sakura said happily. When she stepped back, she looked at the two and spoke in her usual, determined way. "We're going to make this work, I promise."

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When Sasuke returned a number of hours later, the sun had already risen, and Sakura was busy making breakfast. Hanako was still in bed, but the boys had gone off the Uchiha training grounds for an early-morning spar.

Next door, Yoshiko was looking for clothes to replace her sister's cloak and black attire. Mainyu, try as she might to hide it, was having a hard time not smiling. It felt good to be back in Konoha; it felt good to be home. She was standing at a window that was directly over the door that led into Yoshiko's house when suddenly she drew the blinds to hide from the approaching figure. Yoshiko halted in her search to look at her sister.

"Mainyu-chan? What's wrong?" she asked, as the room had suddenly become dark.

"You need to stop him," said Mainyu.

Yoshiko looked at her sister oddly before she switched on the lights to resume her search. Most of her clothes were yet to be washed, so her wardrobe and drawers were almost empty to begin with.

"Who are you talking about, nee-san?"

"Otooji(1)!"

Yoshiko dropped the white-and-black kunoichi dress she was holding and didn't hesitate before running down the stairs and out the door. Mainyu watched her from the side of the blinds, leaning against the wall and being careful to hide her chakra.

"Sasuke-san!" Yoshiko exclaimed loudly, trying to alert her mother to his presence.

Sasuke looked at the girl with a slight distaste. His clothes were dirty and bloody, but he must have stopped at the hospital because he had no injuries - something that was not possible if he had fought his brother, which he obviously had, judging by his ruined clothes. His keen eyes studied the girl's face, seeing more of Sakura in it than Itachi, he thanked Kami, but there was crimson staining the rots of her blonde hair, which desperately needed to be re-colored. He reached for the doorknob, but Yoshiko grabbed his arm to stop him. At the very least, she needed to stall him so her mother had time to get out.

Inside, Sakura had gotten the hint from her daughter's words, which had been spoken with more volume than necessary. She quickly shut off the stove and hurried to the back door. She slid it open then closed, and hopped over the fence onto one of the side streets in the compound. She stayed at ground level and hid her chakra until she had left the compound behind. Sakura ran until she reached the closest house she could think of - Ino's - and knocked on the door.

"Coming!" her friend called from inside before the door was opened. Ino's smile slowly faded when she saw Sakura. She had been expecting Suzume, who had gone off to train early that morning. Instead, in front of her stood a slightly-out-of-breath Uchiha Sakura.

"Sakura? What's wrong?" Ino asked. Sakura never came over unannounced, if she visited at all. The two families hadn't been as close as they used to be ever since Shizuka died at the hands of an Uchiha.

"Can I hide here for a while? Until I can get to Naruto-san at the Hokage Building?"

"Hide? From who?"

Sakura swallowed. That's right, she recalled, Ino didn't know. Should she tell her? Sakura wondered; oh well, it wouldn't take long for Sasuke to realize she wasn't home, and she didn't know how far she could get before her saw her. Besides, he would expect her to go to Naruto's house, and certainly not Ino's. He knew that she and Ino weren't on the best of terms.

"Sa-Sasuke," she muttered.

"Sasuke? Why would you want to hide from your husband?" asked Ino, confused.

"I'll explain inside," said Sakura. "Please, can I come in?"

"Oh…yes, of course, Sakura-chan," Ino nodded, stepping aside and ushering Sakura inside.

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An hour later found Ino and Sakura sitting across from each other in Ino's living room. Sakura had just finished relaying most of her situation to Ino, including a detailed explanation of the things particularly surrounding Shizuka and her killer, Mainyu.

"Ino?" Sakura asked, looking up from her knees. "Would you hate me if…if I chose Itachi over Sasuke-kun?" She didn't dare add a -kun to Itachi's name as she would if she were speaking to Naruto or Hinata. Not around Ino.

"…I don't know, Sakura-chan," Ino confessed. "After what happened to…Shizuka, I…" the blonde Jounin sighed.

Sakura nodded. "You're right, Ino-chan. I wouldn't blame you."

An awkward silence lingered for a few moments before Sakura stood up.

"Naruto-san should be at his office by now," she said, approaching the back door. "I'll stay off the streets in case Sasuke-kun is looking for me. Say hello to Suzume-chan for me, Ino-chan, and Shikamaru-san when he gets back from the mission."

"I will," said Ino. As Sakura stepped outside she opened her mouth, only to close it again and follow her old friend. It took Ino a few seconds - until Sakura was standing steadily on the roof - to speak.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan," she said.

Sakura frowned. "For what?"

"I'm sorry that I can't forgive Mainyu or…Itachi."

Sakura's expression softened. "I don't blame you for that, either." With that, the pink haired medic-nin leapt from roof to roof until she reached the Hokage's Building. Jumping down, she knocked on the door.

"Enter," she heard a woman's voice say, along with the beginnings of a protest from Naruto. Sakura pushed the door open to find Tsunade standing in front of Naruto's desk.

"Tsunade-shishou(2)!" she exclaimed, using the suffix out of habit. "I'm sorry, I'll come back later, Naruto-san."

"Don't worry about it, Sakura," said Naruto. "Don't leave because of Tsunade-baba, here."

Tsunade's temple pulsed. "Don't you ever learn, Naruto?"

Naruto grinned because he knew that it was so incredibly easy to annoy Tsunade, but didn't answer. Tsunade sighed and turned to her old apprentice. As she locked her eyes with Sakura's she couldn't help but be proud. Sakura had taken a much better path, and had recovered from all her losses better than Tsunade had. Only now were things beginning to improve for the former Godaime. Either Sakura was stronger than her in more than one way, or the girl was better at hiding it. Taking everything into account, Tsunade wisely thought that the latter was more likely. Though, she did wonder when she had begun calling her Rokudaime friend 'Naruto-san' instead of 'Naruto-kun'. Maybe the girl just had more respect than her blonde ex-team mate.

"It's good to see you again, Tsunade-sensei," Sakura smiled. "Where have you and Jiraiya-sama been all this time?"

After Orochimaru's death, and after the Akatsuki had disbanded and been (for the most part) killed off, Tsunade had finally given up her place as Hokage (to Naruto, obviously) and disappeared with Jiraiya. There were rumours that the two had gotten married, but Sakura and Naruto - the two living people who were probably closest to the two Sannin - knew personally that they were only rumours.

"Oh, here and there," Tsunade waved the question off almost absentmindedly. "Mostly just making sure that there were no Orochimaru-protégés left in the world, even after the war. We haven't been back to Konoha for longer than a few hours for a long time, but I've been thinking of settling back in the Village. Of course, Jiraiya-_baka_ keeps telling me to move on." Tsunade sighed, and Sakura found herself thinking how she really hasn't changed, apart from the fact that she seemed to be sober, and didn't seem to smell like sake. "But, I thought I'd stay for a little while, at least. Long enough to see the rest of the Chuunin Exams, and maybe the upcoming Jounin Selections. We got here today, and I thought I would make sure Naruto was taking care of my grandfather's treasure while I was gone." The slug Sannin narrowed her eyes pointedly at Naruto, who pretended not to notice.

Sakura nodded. "You and Jiraiya-sama should stay, Tsunade-shishou."

"Well, for now I have to go," the old (though she certainly didn't look it) Sannin said. "I should be dragging that stupid toad away from whatever _research_ he has found by now."

Behind her, Naruto sniggered, and grinned as Tsunade walked past Sakura to the door. "Say hello to Ero-sennin for me, Tsunade-baa-chan!"

Tsunade's temple pulsed again and she turned to Sakura.

"Teach him some respect, will you?"

Naruto's grin disappeared. "Gomen," he muttered as Tsunade exited the building. He turned to Sakura.

"Good to know she hasn't changed much," he muttered darkly before changing the subject. "So, why did you stop by, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura shuffled her feet, almost uncomfortable. "It's…Sasuke-kun."

Naruto's eyes widened. "He didn't-"

"No! No…he hasn't done anything yet, but I can tell he wants to," said Sakura. "I brought Yoshiko to see her father last night, and Sasuke-kun followed us. He's angry, Naruto, and I don't know if he's going to lose it again. This Itachi business…it's really getting to him," Sakura frowned slightly before continuing. "I'll make my choice by tomorrow, but if Sasuke-kun doesn't calm down, I can't guarantee that I will choose him."

"I'm not letting Itachi back into Konoha, Sakura-chan, no matter what, so I how you realize that. I didn't mind when he popped in every few months because of the girls, but you know as well as I do how people will react. I don't trust him," said Naruto.

"I know, Naruto-san. I'm not asking you for help, necessarily. I only want you to know that there isn't a one-hundred-percent chance that I will chose Sasuke-kun over Itachi-kun."

Naruto sighed. "And I just want you to know that if you leave Konoha to be with Itachi, then things will only get more complicated. You're like family, Sakura-chan, and I'll accept your decision, whatever you choose, but it doesn't mean I'll like it and it doesn't mean I will even be able to help. I can only pull so many strings for you - or anyone for that matter. I've done a lot to make things easier here, but if I meddle in this…the elders would have my head!"

Sakura nodded. "I know, Naruto-san." Then she smiled, "That's what makes you a great Hokage."

Naruto smiled back. It looked like she was going to cry, with all the pressure being put on her, not only from others but by herself, too. He walked over and put a friendly arm around his old team mate.

"Come on. I'm meeting Hinata-chan for lunch at Ichiraku. You're coming, because if you think I'm going to let you go back home to Sasuke, you're crazier than usual."

"Hey! Naruto-san, I am not crazy!"

"Well, it is something that you picked up from Tsunade-baa-chan."

"Naruto!"

The blonde grinned. Even though she was yelling at him, he could tell that she was fighting back a smile, and losing at that, too. "There's the smile I missed," he said. "It suits you a lot better than crying. Now come on."

As the two old friends exited the building and walked down the street, Naruto suddenly thought of something.

"Sakura-chan?"

"Yes?"

"Whatever happened to 'Naruto-kun'?"

Sakura laughed. "I don't know; '-san' became a bit of a habit, after you became Hokage, I suppose."

Naruto frowned. "You know, I could tell that Tsunade-baba was thinking about it too. You should have seen her surprise when you called me 'Naruto-san'!"

Sakura laughed. "You know what I haven't told you, even though you've been such a good friend to me?"

"What?"

"Thank you, Naruto-kun."

Naruto smiled. The old Sakura was starting to come back, at long last. Maybe this time, she would stay. Maybe, just maybe, things were starting to look up for his old friend. He cared for her, as a close friend and a team mate, and he had only ever wanted her to be happy. Sure, it was only a change in the suffix she added to his name, but it was something she hadn't said since the last time he had seen her truly happy. It meant a lot.

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Sakura had spent the day with Naruto and Hinata. Naruto wasn't going to let her go home if he could help it, but now she had no choice. She had to put Hanako in bed, so she had returned after dinner, trusting that Yoshiko would cook if she had to. As she was walking down the main road of the compound, Yoshiko came running towards her.

"Mother!"

That caught Sakura's attention. She halted, and Yoshiko stopped right in front of her, but only for a second. "Mother, please, follow me," said the younger kunoichi, grabbing Sakura's arm and leading her onto a side street. When they stopped they were in a badly lit side street, in a corner of the enclosed compound. It wasn't that it was really dark, just shadowed because of the shadows being cast by the low sun.

"What's going on Yoshiko?" Sakura asked, almost in a panic.

"Mother, it's Sasuke-san. He's really angry with you. I tried to speak with him, but he won't talk to me, and Mainyu's had to hide her chakra all day. I couldn't find a good time to get her out of the house until now. She's gone to Naruto-san's house, with a note from me explaining everything," Yoshiko said hurriedly. "I know that he won't to anything to the boys, or Hanako, but it's you I'm worried about. He's absolutely livid. Last night was the last straw for him, Mother. Even after everything he warned me about grudges, he still holds one against his brother. He's lost all reason."

"No," Sakura whispered. "I had hoped - prayed - that he would be able to deal, but he hates Itachi too much. Yoshiko, I have to talk to him."

"No! I won't let you confront him Mother! I know that he isn't a bad person, but you know better than I what he'll do when he's angry."

Sakura placed a hand over her mouth in agitation, trying to think of how she could get herself out of this one. She had been hoping - and praying - that things wouldn't come to this. But Sasuke had spent too many years hating Itachi. As the saying went, old habits die hard. She wanted to speak to Sasuke, and perhaps in the best-case scenario that would happen; but she _knew_ that it was never the best case scenario when it came to Itachi. That was part of the reason she wasn't sure she wanted to choose him over Itachi. Itachi knew how to control his anger batter than Sasuke, as crazy as it sounded. Perhaps it was that Itachi had more experience, and more control over his emotions than his otouto.

Slowly lowering her hand, Sakura sighed - something she seemed to be doing a lot of lately - and jumped onto the nearest rooftop.

"Let's go. If we stay above him we can make sure he won't see us," she said to her daughter, who jumped up after her. "We'll go to Naruto-kun's. He's the only one who Sasuke will listen to, whether Sasuke comes looking for us or Naruto goes looking for him."

Yoshiko nodded. "Alright," she said, and followed her mother from roof to roof until they jumped down at the compound gates and continued running through the shadows. Sakura figured that, since Sasuke was probably waiting for her at home, they would be fine as long as they stuck to the shadows once they were outside the compound. After all, she had to have some good luck today, right?

Wrong.

"Sakura-chan!"

Sakura's feet froze at the sound of that voice and all the chakra left them without her concentrating on them. Slowly, she turned around to see Sasuke standing in the center one of the main streets.

"S-Sa-Sasuke-kun." she stuttered.

"Sakura, we need to talk," said Sasuke.

"H-Hai…I know." _Oh Kami! I sound like a twelve year-old Hinata! Oh, why me? Why now?_ As Sakura's mind reeled, Sasuke advanced, and Sakura's thoughts were interrupted by the thought of just how scary Sasuke was when he was angry. And he was angry, all right.

"So, why don't come back home and we can talk. You know perfectly well that I won't do anything with the kids around."

And Sakura did know that. That was why she still felt safe at home. So, it wasn't that she was afraid of him, not while the kids were home, but she just needed a few goddamn minutes to be away from him!

Before she could answer, Yoshiko had thrown a kunai, purposely missing.

"Go!" she hissed to her mother, who, without a second thought, ran for it. Behind her she could hear the beginnings of a fight.

When she arrived at Naruto's door, out of breath for just the latest time that day, he knew exactly why. Before Sakura could stop him, and angry Naruto had run past her, cursing and swearing, and calling Sasuke any number of foul names until he was out of sight.

Hinata ushered Sakura inside. "I'm sorry," the lavender-eyed woman offered her general apologies for Sakura's situation. "You should stay here, until things blow over."

Sakura nodded, seeing that behind Hinata, Mainyu was sitting with Ryo and Hitomi at their dinner table. The teenager was distinguishable only by her hair and eyes, because instead of her usual black clothing and cloak, she was wearing a white kunoichi dress with purple flowers - Yoshiko's, obviously.

"Have you had dinner yet, Sakura-chan?" Hinata asked politely.

"No. I'm not hungry, though, Hinata-chan. I think…I think I'll just go sit out behind the house," replied Sakura.

Hinata nodded and smiled understandingly. "Hai, I understand. That's fine."

Sakura smiled back, almost weakly, and made her way to lay on the soft, well-kept grass. For one last time that day, she heaved a heavy, troubled sigh.

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Half-an-hour later, the door behind Sakura slid open and Mainyu lay down beside her mother, both looking up at the stars.

"Naruto-san and Yoshiko-imouto hasn't returned yet, but Hinata-san said that if one of us wanted to go bring Hanako and the boys over, it would be better than them sitting at home alone," she said.

Sakura shook her head. "No, I'll wait until Naruto-kun comes back. I don't feel comfortable going there without knowing what's going on."

Mainyu nodded, but was silent. After a few moments she opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a shout of, "Okaa-san(3)!"

Sakura bolted up and rushed into the house where Yoshiko and Naruto stood, both a bit battered from the fight that had obviously taken place.

"What is it? Where's Sasuke-kun?" she asked hurriedly, caught up in the pace at which time seemed to be moving that day.

"He's really angry, Sakura-chan. He's lost it," said Naruto. "He tried to use..." the blonde Hokage frowned. "…chidori."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Ch-chidori! But he hasn't used that for so long, it never though that he would use it on you of all people again! And in the middle of the street!" she stammered, suddenly feeling very faint.

Naruto nodded. "I'm sorry, Sakura, but he's really lost it. I had to deflect it back at him to avoid hurting anyone."

Now Sakura was feeling very, very faint.

"Yoshiko-chan and I got him to the hospital in time. Tsunade's still there - I think she's really staying in Konoha - and she's healing him," said Naruto. Suddenly, he noticed that she was falling down. She was fainting. "Sakura? Sakura!" he exclaimed, and was behind her in an instant.

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**A/N:** I love Tsunade! I hope you liked the chapter, and I promise to try to update if I can, but like I said, with exams coming up, I'm trying to concentrate a bit more on my school stuff to make sure I get the marks.

Happy New Years to all my wonderful readers! I'll see you in 2007!

Another Author's Note:

(1): "otooji" means "uncle"; specifically "parent's younger brother".

(2): "shishou" used here, it means "teacher".

(3): "Okaa-san" means "mother".

That's all!

Arien


	12. Finals, Part 1

"What Happened After"

**Anime**: Naruto

**Genre**: General

**Rating**: T for mild language and other things similar.

**Author**: ariensun

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. I only own the keyboard and computer I am using, along with any and all of my OCs (obviously).

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Chapter 12: Finals, Part One

Sakura groaned a bit as she sat up, her head pounding. For a moment she panicked. Where was she? Then, registering her dim surroundings, she leaned back, but didn't rest her head on the pillow. She was in Naruto's house, she remembered, and she was lying on a still-made bed in the guest room. A stationary fan was buzzing quietly in the corner, cooling the room nicely. As Sakura's headache lessened, there was a knock at the door.

"Okaa-san?" Yoshiko's voice sounded, wordlessly asking if she was up.

"Hai, Yoshiko, I'm up," Sakura replied, and Yoshiko entered.

"Can I turn the lights on?"

"Hai."

Sakura squinted for a few seconds until her eyes adjusted to the light. Slowly, she swung her legs over the side of the bed, her sandaled feet resting on the carpet. Yoshiko sat down beside her on the bed.

"Yoshiko-chan, what happened? I was downstairs, and suddenly I was up here."

"You fainted, Mother. When Naruto-san told you that he had to deflect Sasuke-san's chidori back at him," the girl replied, holding a glass of cool water out to her mother. Sakura took it and took a grateful sip.

"How long was I out for?"

"Not very long. Hinata-san said to just let you rest, and that you would regain consciousness soon enough."

Sakura nodded, and stood up, still slowly to avoid any dizziness.

"Okaa-san? Shouldn't you rest?"

"I'm fine, Yoshiko-chan. I need to talk to Naruto-kun, that's all."

"Okay," said Yoshiko, also standing up. "I'm going to go meet Hinata-san back at the house. She went to go get Hanako and the boys. They'll be wondering what's going on by now. I should be the one to explain about Sasuke-san."

"Alright. I'll meet you there after a while. Stay there until I arrive."

"Hai, Okaa-san." Yoshiko understood that her mother wanted to stay with her children. Mainyu had long since retreated to the roof to watch the sky.

Sakura smiled and walked out of the room after her daughter. The two headed down the stairs, and Sakura waited until Yoshiko had left the house before turning to Naruto. The blonde Hokage was sitting at his kitchen table, staring intently at his empty cup.

"It won't refill by just looking at it, you know," Sakura joked, taking a seat across from him. Naruto looked up at her, but said nothing. It wasn't so difficult to see that he was thinking about the evening's events.

"Naruto-kun, we both know Sasuke-kun will be alright," said Sakura. "But will you?"

"Yes. I'll be fine. What about you, Sakura-chan?"

Silence followed, and it was a few minutes before Sakura answered the only way she could.

"I've decided," she said, not sure what else to say. She didn't even know if she would be okay. Naruto studied her eyes for a moment before nodding in a solemn understanding.

"You didn't choose Sasuke," he stated.

Sakura shook her head, confirming his thoughts. "No. I don't think he'll ever forgive me for the twins. I don't think I can live with him anymore if he's like this…it's as if he's reminded of Itachi-kun every time he looks at me or one of the girls."

"Are you sure, though, Sakura-chan? You've still got Hanako-chan, and Katsu and Hokuro to worry about," said Naruto.

"I know. But…I don't think I can live with Sasuke-kun anymore. After everything that's happened…everything he's done and how he's been handling all this…I'm not sure I can love him anymore; no matter how much it hurts."

"So what are you going to do? The Finals of the Exams are still weeks away, and Hokuro has to fight if he wants to have a better chance of advancing to Chuunin," Naruto pointed out.

"I guess I'll stay with you, then. I certainly can't go home, especially after Sasuke's been healed, and I know you won't let me go anyway," said Sakura, trying to smile for her old friend. Sasuke was still Naruto's best friend, so Sakura knew that it was hard on Naruto to se how much Sasuke was changing; how much he was regressing.

"Okay," said Naruto. "We should go see Sasuke-teme in the morning; if we don't he might wonder. Don't mention anything to him yet, though; not until he's been healed. I don't want him injuring himself further because of his reaction. He may be an idiotic bastard sometimes, but he's still our Sasuke."

Sakura easily smiled a bit for real at this. "Hai. I feel the same way."

After a few more moments of comfortable, friendly silence, Sakura stood.

"I told Yoshiko I would be there to explain things to Hanako and the boys," she said, answering Naruto's unasked question of where she was going. "I won't be long."

Naruto silently nodded, and Sakura hurried off down the street.

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**Uchiha Compound**

Hanako lay sleeping in Katsu's arms. Her face was peaceful, unlike the small frowns on those of her brothers. Katsu and Hokuro - both of whom were still dressed, disregarding the latening hour - stood before Hinata and Yoshiko. The two females were sitting on the couch, waiting for Sakura to arrive, while the boys looked from one to the other, still registering what Yoshiko had just told him. Just as Katsu opened his mouth to speak, the door opened. The boys watched as their mother approached them. She looked tired, and her eyes had an odd look to them that they hadn't seen before. Yoshiko had sensed her mother's chakra coming and had been silently counting the seconds before the door had creaked open. When Sakura was standing right behind her, leaning forward on the couch a bit, Yoshiko finally stood.

"Come on. We should go now," the blonde stated - though her hair was beginning to look more red than blonde. Wordlessly, Katsu followed Yoshiko as she and Hinata headed to the door. When he realized that his brother wasn't following him, he turned his head.

"Hokuro?"

"…I'll be there in a minute."

Katsu turned back around and watched the different emotions that passed over Yoshiko's and Hinata's faces. He listened - along with the two women ahead of him - to what his brother was saying.

"Dad's gonna be okay, right? Yoshiko-san told us that he got in a fight with Naruto-san. Why's dad in the hospital? Yoshiko-san and Hinata-san didn't say much to us," Hokuro was saying. Katsu tensed, while Yoshiko and Hinata exchanged looks. Hokuro was still ten, so naturally he had less of an idea about what was going on. Katsu, on the other hand, was thirteen, and figured he had a fairly good grasp on the 'situation'.

Sakura looked her younger son's dark eyes over, and sighed. "Come on. It's late," she said, avoiding the questions, and followed the other three out. Hokuro looked a bit confused, but followed. He told himself that he should be getting some sleep anyway. He wanted to make his parents proud at the finals.

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**Hospital - next morning**

"Sakura-chan, you should go in first. Tsunade-baachan said only one at a time."

There was a group of people waiting outside a door with a sign beside the door that read, 'Uchiha Sasuke' in bold letters. To people walking past, it would have been a sight. The last family of the Uchiha clan, and the Hokage with his wife. If those people looked down the hall, they would have seen one of the two living Sannin - Tsunade - standing at the end of the hall, observing and making sure the visit went smoothly. She could be on hand if anything happened. The only ones in the family not there were Hanako and Mainyu, who had remained behind.

Sakura looked at Naruto, who had spoken. "Come with me?" she offered.

Naruto regarded her for a moment, then nodded. He knew that Tsunade was standing at the end of the hall, but he also knew that she wouldn't mind. The two old friends entered the pastel room, closing the door quietly behind them.

There was only a small window on the outer wall, and the blinds were drawn closed. The only sound in the room was the beeping of the heart monitor. On the bed, a slightly pale Sasuke was lying, torso bandaged, and seemed to be asleep. He wasn't in a coma, Tsunade had said, so Sakura was reassured by the fact that he was sleeping. Naruto took a seat in the chair beside the bed, and Sakura sat on the edge of the bed, fixing Sasuke's hair almost absentmindedly so that it lay perfectly on the white pillow. Naruto just sat quietly, waiting for his friend to wake up, which Sasuke soon did, raising his hand to touch Sakura's, which was sitting lovingly on the side of his head. It was the source of warmth that had woken him up.

"S…Sakura-chan?" he asked, opening his eyes to look at her clouded green orbs.

"Sasuke, I…" she stopped.

"You're mad at me…aren't you?" Sasuke said guiltily. "I…I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?"

It hurt, but Sakura shook her head, her eyes brimming with tears.

"I can't do that, Sasuke-kun. Not this time. Not again. I…I've already made my choice, Sasuke-kun, and you…you aren't it."

"You chose my bastard brother over me? Wh-"

Sasuke elapsed into a fit of coughing, and when he stopped, he saw that Sakura was looking at him with caring eyes.

"I can't do this anymore, Sasuke-kun. I'm done," she said firmly, but not unkindly.

"Do what anymore, Sakura-chan? What are you talking abou-"

"This! Us! I'm talking about all of this!" Sakura cried out loudly, but immediately regretted it. "I…I don't love you anymore, Sasuke-kun. I can't if you're going to be like this."

"Because you love Itachi," Sasuke accused quietly.

"Sasuke, are you able, just for two seconds, to not compare absolutely everything to your brother!" Sakura cried out, exasperated. Sasuke stopped his next words at this. "Itachi-kun is actually able to live his life without second-guessing absolutely everything! Why can't you just move on with your life! Naruto-kun forgave the entire village for making his life hell! Why can't you for give one damn person?" She demanded.

"Sakura…" Naruto began to speak, but stopped. She needed to get this out. Still, he stood, ready to lead her out if her crying got any worse, which it soon did.

"I'm done, Sasuke. I want a divorce. I don't care what I have to do. As far as you're concerned, I'm not your wife anymore," Sakura said coldly, forcefully pulling off both her wedding band and her diamond engagement ring, before allowing Naruto to wrap his arms around her and lead her out. As they left, the heart monitor slowed and let out a long beep. Horrified, Sakura glanced back at the thin line shown on the screen.

"Tsunade-shishou! Tsunade-shishou! The heart monitor!" she screamed down the hallway, as Hinata quickly ushered the boys away. Down the hall, Tsunade could feel Sasuke's chakra - weak as it already was - fading completely. She ran quickly down the hall and entered the room, closing and locking the door to everyone.

Outside, Sakura was slowly shrinking against the wall. "Oh Kami. Oh Kami-sama, what have I done?" she groaned. "This is all my fault! If I hadn't yelled he would be fine! Oh--"

Naruto grasped her firmly by the shoulders, forcing their eyes to meet. "It's not your fault, Sakura-chan. And he'll be fine. Tsunade-baachan will work her magic, and he'll be fine. Come on, Sakura-chan, you know how good she is. You're the only one better."

"I know, but what if--"

"Then don't think about that."

But Sakura couldn't help it. What if…what if Sasuke died, and it was all her fault?

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**A/N:** I know, I know, short chapter. But I just had to end it there - I couldn't resist.

Sorry! I hope to update once more before exams.

Arien


	13. Finals, Part 2

"What Happened After"

**Anime**: Naruto

**Genre**: General

**Rating**: T for mild language and other things similar.

**Author**: ariensun

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. I only own the keyboard and computer I am using, along with any and all of my OCs (obviously).

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Chapter 13: Finals, Part Two

Yoshiko sat down beside her mother, leaning her head against the wall, and watched as Naruto crouched down in front of Sakura, face written with concern.

"I thought we agreed that you would wait," he said softly and carefully.

"I couldn't stop myself, and now…" Sakura placed her head in her hands. "I'm so sorry Naruto kun!"

Naruto sighed and swept the hysterical pink-haired woman into his arms. "He's going to be alright, Sakura-chan," he repeated. He wasn't worried; this was Sasuke they were talking about. But Sakura…well, she was a different story.

It was a solid fifteen minutes before any sound could be heard in the hallway. The door opened, causing Yoshiko and Naruto to look up. Tsunade sighed.

"He's fine," she said. Yoshiko let out her breath, while the older two gave no reaction. "But Sakura, may I speak with you?"

Slowly, Sakura pushed herself up, drying the few tears that had stubbornly fallen. "Hai, Tsunade-shishou."

Tsunade led her to the end of the hall, down the number of floors to the lobby of the hospital. "Sit," she ordered, pointing to a chair in an out-of-the-way corner. Sakura obeyed, feeling for the first time in years like she was a little child about to be chastised. Tsunade took a seat beside her.

"Sakura, what happened in there?"

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**With Naruto**

Once Sakura and Tsunade had vanished from sight, Naruto had risen and entered the room again. A few moments of inward deliberation passed before Yoshiko moved to follow him in.

"No."

Yoshio stopped, nodding once and turned to leave, leaving Naruto alone in the room. When he was sure that she was long gone, the blonde Hokage moved closer to Sasuke's bed. The Uchiha's breathing was stable and even again, and he was watching Naruto's movements with tired eyes.

"Are you that stubborn that you won't go to sleep?" Naruto asked in half-jest. Sasuke didn't respond, and Naruto sat in the chair with a sigh and a half-hearted "sorry".

"Guess…I'm the baka now…aren't I?" Sasuke drawled tiredly. Naruto chuckled.

"Yeah. I'm sorry about Sakura-chan. She wasn't supposed to tell you until you were better. You just gave her the scare of her life, you know," he said.

Sasuke frowned, and readjusted his head o his pillow to get a better look at his friend. "Naruto…you'll take care of her?" It was more of a statement than a question, but still, Naruto nodded.

"And what about you?"

Sasuke's frown remained. "What…about me?"

"What are you going to do?"

Sasuke didn't react until Naruto was about to ask the question again. "Depends what…Sakura-chan is going…to do," he forced out.

"I don't know what she's going to do, but I can't imagine that she'll go back to an apartment with Hanako-chan and the boys. Yoshiko-chan and Mainyu have been talking about getting their own," answered Naruto.

"I'll…give her a house…in the compound…if she wants it. At the far end to…make things easier…as long as I…don't have to…see my brother," said Sasuke. Naruto nodded. "Now… let me sleep…Naruto."

"Alright. I'll be back later to check up, teme," said Naruto, standing.

"I'll be waiting, dobe," Sasuke replied, grinning a bit and watching the door close behind the blonde.

"Yoshiko?" Naruto asked once he had left the room, looking up and down the hall. He had expected to see the girl waiting but she wasn't there. Naruto sighed, walking lazily down the hall.

When he reached the bottom floor, he found that neither Sakura, Yoshiko, or Tsunade were there. Naruto frowned, continuing his search until he gave up and returned home, only to find Sakura and her to eldest daughter sitting atop his roof, comfortably talking. He decided against bothering them and stepped inside, where he was greeted by Hanako embracing his waist. Naruto ruffled the little girl's hair before carrying her out back to her brothers, and telling Katsu to inform Sakura that he would be at the Hokage Tower if she needed anything.

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**Weeks Later - Chuunin Exam - Third Exam Arena**

"Welcome to the Finals of this year's Chuunin Selection Exams!" Naruto's voice reached the ears of every spectator. "Uchiha Hokuro and Nara Suzume, please enter the arena!"

From opposite ends, the two opponents entered the arena to applause, and walked towards the center where Naruto stood in his Hokage robes, beside Yoshiko who was wearing her Jounin vest over her favourite dress. Hokuro had his hair tied back into its usual low ponytail, but it was shorter than usual because his mother had forced him to cut it the day before the match; and he was wearing his usual clothing. Suzume had her dark blonde hair tied into two tight, side-by-side buns at the very back of her head, and was wearing a turquoise-flowered, purple kunoichi dress.

Naruto nodded at Yoshiko and _poofed_ out to take his seat beside a Kazekage-robe clad Kankuro and the fan-bearing Temari. As soon as he sat, Naruto threw off his Kage hat in frustration.

"Kankuro, how do you stand that thing?" he asked in mock wonder.

Kankuro chuckled. "I dealt with Gaara for years. He's a hell of a lot scarier than a dumb hat."

"Oh come on, Gaara-san wasn't that bad," said Naruto.

Kankuro snorted. "Speak for yourself, Naruto. Shukaku actually liked you."

Naruto laughed. "Shukaku favoured Kyuubi, not me. Demon respect, I guess."

Kankuro couldn't answer that, so with a smug smile, Naruto also turned his attention to the arena below.

"Ready?" Yoshiko was asking, looking between her step brother and her dead-best-friend's sister.

"Yes,"; "Yeah."

"Then begin,"…

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…Hokuro's breath came in short gasps. It had been seven fast-paced minutes, and he and Suzume were equally matched. While he had his powerful attacks and Sharingan eyes, Suzume had her speed and shadow jutsus, which Hokuro could barely avoid.

Yoshiko's attention was starting to wander, as interesting as the match was, and had taken to watching (though she couldn't hear it) a conversation between her identical twin and Tsunade, which was taking place atop of the roof of a nearby building.

A loud curse word that would have done a pissed-off Itachi proud came from Hokuro's mouth, and caught Yoshiko's attention now. Hokuro had been finally caught by Suzume's shadow, causing him to use some _colourful_ language. Next thing anyone knew, kunais flew, the jutsu was broken, and Hokuro jumped away in time that one of the kunai only grazed his leg…

…five minutes later saw the situation reversed, and Hokuro had the upper hand…

…and five minutes after that saw the end of the match, applause of the crowd, and Hokuro watching - almost sadly - Suzume being taken away on a stretcher. In the stands, two pairs of eyes had opened wide. Years of keenly listening for adolescent gossip had made Ino and Sakura very adept at reading lips, and so they clearly saw the words Hokuro had said before winning the match with his favourite technique; "I'm sorry," was testament to the fact that a deep friendship still existed between the two families.

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The end of the day came after all the celebrations, and after Naruto had Kankuro had announced the names - Hokuro and Suzume included - of those advancing to the Chuunin level.

"Good job, Hokuro!" Sakura congratulated her son once more as they entered the compound with the rest of the family following. True to his words to Naruto, Sasuke had helped clean up two of the houses at the far end of the compound - one for Sakura and a separate house for the twins. They passed the main house - Sakura noticed that the lights were already on - and towards the back of the compound. When they came to a rather secluded but well-kept house, they entered.

Sakura sent her three youngest to bed almost immediately, and Mainyu volunteered to go up with them. Yoshiko went to change and then retired to the roof. Sakura also changed out of her party kimono into a plain red dress with an Uchiha fan outlined in white on the back. As she left the house for a quiet walk, she tracked a chakra signature until she was sure she was alone with the person. She sighed, smiling and rolling her eyes in good humor.

"I know you're there, Itachi-kun."

With a poof of smoke, Itachi appeared in front of her.

"My congratulations to Hokuro. He is a good fighter."

"Ah yes, I thought there was an extra Uchiha standing on top of the stands," said Sakura.

"What's wrong, Sakura-chan?" asked Itachi, hearing the strain on her voice.

"Gomen. I'm stressed out."

Itachi nodded. "I thought there was something missing from your ring finger. Does this mean you've finally left my idiot brother?"

"Hai, but I still can't leave. And you can't stay."

"I left this place for a reason," said Itachi. "Trust me, at the moment, I have no intention of returning. I'm not wanted here."

"Then this is the end of it? Of us?" asked Sakura.

Itachi shook his head, and the corners of Sakura's lips lifted into a sort of half-smile. That was what she had been hoping for.

"I never said I wouldn't visit. Aishiteru, Sakura-chan. I still love you," said Itachi.

Sakura smiled. "Aishiteru, Itachi kun. I love you too."

And they sealed it with a kiss.

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**A/N:** Don't worry, this isn't the end. There's still going to be at least another chapter, maybe two or three more, but it is getting close to end. I was actually hoping to not have as much ItaSaku stuff throughout the story, but that idea kinda…went out the window.

Arien


	14. One Year Later

"What Happened After"

**Anime**: Naruto

**Genre**: General

**Rating**: T for mild language and other things similar.

**Author**: ariensun

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. I only own the keyboard and computer I am using, along with any and all of my OCs (obviously).

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A/N: Okay, yeah… this has kinda…unintentionally…become an ItaSaku fic…sorry if you don't like the pairing -hides under computer desk (away from angry rotten-tomato-bearing reviewers)- eep!

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Chapter 14: One Year Later

Sakura groaned at her alarm clock. She rarely used the thing, but today was a very important. AS she leaned over to shut the beeping machine off, the pair of arms around her waist restrained her. She pressed the off button with the tip of her finger before rolling back over to face the owner of the arms.

"Itachi-kun, I have to go," Sakura protested as he tried to pull her back.

"But do you want to go?" Itachi asked slyly.

Sakura frowned and dug one of her fingernails into his hand, forcing him to let go. "Yes, I do."

"You're evil, you know that?"

Sakura smiled sweetly. "Yes, I do," she answered, removing the sheets completely from the bed. Itachi growled at the sudden cold, but still refused to budge. Sakura hit him on the arm. She was getting fed up. She was going to be late. "Now up! Hanako starts at the academy today, and Tsunade-shishou wants me to be at the hospital to treat the team that's supposed to return today. It's Mainyu's day off, and Tsunade-shishou seems to think that today is the best day for me to go back to work."

Itachi removed himself from the bed, dressing and all the while muttering something about 'evil medic-nins' and 'hormonal kunoichis deprived of birth control' (Sakura had run out the previous day, making Itachi's night none the more enjoyable).

When Itachi came out of the bathroom where he had changed, Sakura was already downstairs, rushing a seven year old Hanako out of the house.

"Okaa-san, I'm going, I'm going!" the girl insisted.

Itachi hovered at the top of the stairs as Sakura told Yoshiko and Mainyu to take Hanako out of the house.

"Kiss for good luck?" she called up to him. In an instant Itachi was by her side, their lips locked in a quick kiss.

"I'll see you later, Itachi-kun!" Sakura called happily back to him, and went to catch up with her daughters. Itachi shook his head. Damn, that woman was full of energy!

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"To all our new Academy students, welcome!" Naruto announced, as was his job. Beside him stood all the senseis that taught at the Academy, Tenten, Moegi, and Konohomaru among them. All the previous year's graduates were there with their senseis too, along with the proud parents of new students.

"Please follow your class sensei when I call your name," said the blonde, rolling out a scroll. The very last name on it was 'Uchiha Hanako'. The pink-haired girl hugged her mother one last time, and hurried forward. As she passed Naruto, he smiled and ruffled her hair.

Soon after that, the ceremony that started off the new academy year ended, and Naruto caught up with Sakura as she was leaving.

"So, did you take Tsunade-baba up on that offer to go back to work? You don't have to worry about kids anymore," he said, walking beside her.

Sakura nodded. "That's where I'm going now. She wants me to help out with the injuries on the ANBU team that's supposed to return today."

Naruto frowned. "Isn't that the team that Sasuke's leading?"

"Yes," Sakura answered, then seeing the look on her friend's face, she laughed. "It's been a year since we divorced, Naruto-kun. I think he's gotten over it by now."

"You are talking about Sasuke-teme, right? The guy who held a grudge for over twenty goddamn years?"

Sakura laughed. "Yes. But that was different."

"I know, but you can't blame me for worrying about you. After all, what's all the gossip I've been hearing from Hinata-chan about you getting engaged again?" Naruto grinned. Sakura stopped dead.

"H-Hinata-chan t-told you a-about that, d-did she?"

Naruto nodded. "I swear, when that girl gets going she can talk a mile a minute. You and Ino-chan are a bad influence," he joked.

Sakura hit him in the arm, and Naruto faked hurt. "Baka."

Naruto just shrugged it off. "So, was she telling the truth?"

Sakura blushed crimson. "M-maybe. Why do you a-ask?" she asked nervously.

"Oh, just interested. For some reason I never thought you like the name 'Haruno'. You much prefer 'Uchiha', am I right?" Naruto teased.

"Baka," Sakura grumbled. Naruto laughed.

"Come on, Sakura-chan. You know I'm joking. Actually, I think it's good. You never were suited for the single life."

"Oh? And why's that?" Sakura challenged.

"You're too evil," Naruto joked. "You're damn scary when you haven't got a guy to watch over you; you're a lot more pleasant when you're lovesick."

Sakura threw her arms up in mock exasperation. "Twice!" she exclaimed. "Twice in one day I have been called evil!"

"Well, personally, I agree with Itachi-teme--" Naruto cut his own words off with a yelp. Sakura had punched him for real this time.

"Quiet, Naruto! Sasuke could be back already!" she scolded. They were standing right outside the hospital.

"Right. Sorry. Anyway, I should probably go. Ero-sennin said that he wanted to talk to me, something about a 'tradition of apprentices'. It should be interesting. Hinata-chan will throw a fit if he so much as offers to take Ryo on as an apprentice in a few years. I've got no issues with it…"

"Right," mumbled Sakura, not paying much attention. When Naruto stopped talking she smirked.

"Are you sure its not you who's made Hinata-chan talkative?" she asked, then laughed at his reaction. "Say hello to Jiraiya-sama for me, Naruto-kun! And stay out of trouble, especially when it has to do with Itachi-kun!" she called after him. Naruto turned back and frowned.

"Yes, okaa-san," he mocked.

"Like I need any more kids," Sakura mumbled, then turned and entered the hospital. Still, she was glad that her friendship with Naruto had stayed strong.

Before the hospital doors even closed behind her, Sakura was greeted with a great deal of noise. Immediately, she spotted Shizune, who was beckoning her over to where she stood in the middle of the chaotic waiting area.

"Ohayo, Sakura-san," she greeted the pink-haired woman.

"Ohayo. Where is Tsunade-sama? She asked me to report directly to her when I arrived," Sakura asked.

"She's in the ICU. The mission was successful, but not without cost."

Sakura nodded and took the clipboard Shizune held out to her. It listed the shinobi who had returned from the mission and been treated:

ANBU squads 1-2

ANBU Captain Uchiha Sasuke

Nara Shikamaru (ANBU squad 4)

Hyuuga Neji (ANBU squad 9)

"What's the status on each of them?" Sakura asked.

Shizune studied Sakura for a moment. She sighed. "Hyuuga Neji and Nara Shikamaru have been released with minor injuries. All of squad one has also been released. Most of squad two will remain here for observation. Tsunade-sama has done most of the work already," she paused for effect. Sakura knew that her voice held disappointment, because Sakura had been initially asked to report first thing, but chose to ignore it.

"And Sasuke?" she asked with indifference.

"He's being tended to by Tsunade-sama now."

After a moment, Sakura nodded. "I'll check up on those in observation." She took a few steps before she heard Shizune's voice.

"Sakura-san, I wouldn't keep Tsunade-sama waiting for much longer. You should go directly to the ICU."

"Hai. I'll hurry," replied Sakura, and continued towards the ICU. Once she was out of Shizune's sight, though, she hurried up the stairs to the wing of the hospital reserved for patients that only needed to stay for observation.

Ten minutes later, Sakura could find no more excuses to avoid the ICU, and frowned as she walked through the doors and into the slightly less chaotic wing. Immediately, she spotted the door with the name, 'Uchiha Sasuke' attached to it. She knocked once, then entered.

"Tsunade-sama," she announced her presence.

"You were supposed to be here _hours_ ago, Sakura," said Tsunade, who had sunk tiredly into a chair on the side of the room opposite the sleeping Uchiha.

"Gomen," apologized Sakura. "Is there anything I can do?"

Tsunade sighed. "I'm assigning you to look after Uchiha here. I trust you'll keep him alive?"

Sakura nodded. She had been hoping that she wouldn't have to be around Sasuke too much. Especially not when she was going home to Itachi tonight. "Hai." She accepted the job.

"Good. He's stable for now. As long as nothing happens, he'll only be here for a week or so." Tsunade stood up and left without another word. She was too tired to scold Sakura for her lack of punctuality, though it was understandable, she supposed.

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**Next Day - Morning - Hospital**

Sakura trudged through the halls to Sasuke's room. He had been moved out of the ICU the previous night. She entered his dark room and began to review the nurse's reports that had been left for her. She yawned and looked towards the window. The blinds were still closed, but it was still dark out. There was just enough moonlight peeking through the cracks at the edges of the blinds that she could read if she sat by the window. Sakura had forgotten what four-am shifts felt like. Still, she missed being a medic-nin. It was far more exciting than being a mother, and it gave her the pride of knowing that she was still an active part of the shinobi world: she was helping people. That was why she had become a medic-nin in the first place; so that she could protect her friends and help them (and others) in her own way.

Sakura heard movement from the bed and looked up from her seat in a chair. She frowned. Trust Sasuke to try and move before he should.

"Go back to sleep," she ordered.

"Sa…Sakura?" Sasuke rasped out. He was still weak. Sakura remembered Tsunade grumbling something the previous night about him 'always over-exerting himself on missions'. She rolled her eyes.

"Hai. It's four in the morning: go back to sleep."

She didn't get a reply, so she assumed that he had complied. Soon after that, she herself dozed off.

Sakura was woken by a harsh ray of sun that decided the best place to shine its light was on her face. She sat up and checked the clock on the wall. Three hours of sleep was all she got, but her body had returned to its 'medic-nin mode', and she felt fine. She looked towards the bed where Sasuke was trying to sit up. She let out an annoyed sound that sounded like a low growl, and stood up.

"You should lie down," she ordered, and gently pushed him back down. Sasuke frowned, then glared at her, but Sakura ignored it. An awkward silence followed, the only sound in the room being the beeping of the life-support machine in the corner. Slowly, Sasuke slid back down the bed.

"Sa…Sakura-chan …"

Again, Sakura ignored him. She returned to her seat by the window, hoping that maybe he would get the message. He had always been stubborn.

"Sakura-chan…how are…the kids?"

Sakura snorted. "They're fine, thank you. And why do you suddenly care? You haven't even spoken to me or them since the divorce."

"Are you…out to…punish me?" Sasuke tried to look amused, but failed miserably.

"Yes," Sakura answered bluntly. She realized that she wasn't going to get back to sleep, so she stood up again and exited. He wasn't the only one being punished. Sakura was sure that Tsunade was going to be out to get her because of her 'lack of punctuality'. Sakura fought the urge to roll her eyes as Shizune approached her.

"Sakura-san, Tsunade-sama asked me to pass this message on to you: you are not to leave the Uchiha's room until further notice, unless it directly concerns the safety of yourself, others, or you are summoned to the Hokage's office," the older woman told her.

"I'm just getting food, Shizune-san. I'll be back in ten minutes."

Shizune eyed her suspiciously, but let her be on her way. Sakura turned to corner, and began pumping chakra into her feet to go faster. _I have __got__ to get away from him_, she thought desperately, and headed to the Hokage's office. If it took a 'summons' to get her away from Sasuke, she would just have to ask Naruto.

She entered his office in the Hokage Tower without bothering to knock, to find Naruto with his head in his hands, sitting at his desk. He looked up when she entered.

"Aren't you supposed to be at the hospital, Sakura-chan?"

"You've got no idea what it's like to be confined to a room with and injured, more-stubborn-than-usual Sasuke."

"Confined?"

"Tsunade-shishou told me not to leave. She said I could only leave if I was summoned to your office."

Naruto understood. "Fair enough. That's what I'll tell her, then."

"So," began Sakura, approaching him and sitting in a chair across from him. "What's eating you?"

"I spent all night here. Hinata-chan kicked me to the couch last night after I told her I didn't think it would be a bad idea for Ero-sennin to train Ryo in a few years. That woman might be shy, but she's scary protective."

Sakura laughed. "It's called being a mother, Naruto-kun. Honestly, haven't you figured that out yet?"

"I suppose not--"

There was a huge crash from behind them. "Haruno Sakura! Do you want your damn job or not!" Tsunade turned to glare at Naruto. "And don't try and tell me you asked for her because I know you better than that, Naruto."

Naruto regarded the 'miffed' Tsunade and the remainder of his door.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan," he apologized as Tsunade marched the grown woman out of the office and back to the hospital, locking her in the room with the Uchiha.

Grumbling at her futile attempt to escape, Sakura fell back into the chair. Sasuke was grinning at her.

"Oh very funny, Sasuke-_teme_."

Sasuke threw one of his infamous death glares at her. _Maybe this won't be so bad_, thought Sakura amusedly; _he's already reverted back to his Genin days_.

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A loud, continuous beeping snapped Sakura from her daydream. She had been planning her wedding in her head, actually. An interesting thing to do with your ex-husband in the room. Wait, ex-husband's hospital room, beeping…

"Damn you, Sasuke!" Sakura cursed and sprang up from her chair. "Never stop causing me problems…" she mumbled as she continued to do CPR. Nothing was working, and Tsunade had never taught her medical jutsus for heart failure.

She ran to the door and swung it open. Luckily, Tsunade was just coming out of the next room.

"Tsunade-shishou! Sasuke's gone into cardiac arr--"

Before she finished her sentence, Tsunade had pushed past her and had her hands glowing with chakra over his heart. Medical jutsus were a dangerous thing. They would normally do more damage than help the patient, but Tsunade had long perfected hers. It had taken her years and years: time that she did not have to spend teaching Sakura, who was already a grown woman.

"Don't you dare die on me, Uchiha!" she growled as she tried to manipulate his chakra, that would in turn make his blood pump faster. "Don't you d--"

It seemed that the only thing in the world that could (and would dare to) interrupt the "retired" Godaime Hokage of Konoha, was the otherworldly sound of Sasuke's heart monitor emitting an unrelenting, soft, and heartbreaking,

"Beeeeeeeeeeee--"

Tsunade pressed the off button, and turned to Sakura, who was shaking.

It still amazed the pink-haired woman, even after all that she had seen, how easy it was for such a strong, stubborn shinobi such as Sasuke (and he was probably more stubborn than anything, but that wasn't to say he wasn't strong. He had, at one point, been set to named Naruto's official successor. But those days were long gone.) It only took one hitch of his heart rate, one minute of cardiac arrest to kill him, just as it would any of the civilian patients in the hospital.

Sakura looked between her former sensei and Sasuke, still shaking.

"Sakura…"

"I understand, Tsunade-shishou, I really do," she assured the blonde woman. "Please, don't worry. He is just another friend who has died." _"Just another person missions have killed,"_ she added silently to herself, but she did not blame Naruto in the slightest way. "Just another friend whose time had come," she spoke with experience.

Tsunade nodded. "Okay. Would you like to break the news to Naruto, or should I?"

"I-I will. Tsunade-shishou. He should hear it from me."

Again, Tsunade nodded. "Okay." With that, she left, closing the door quietly behind her, as if to not disturb the silence in the room she had left.

Sakura crossed over to Sasuke's side. "Sasuke-teme," she snorted quietly to herself. "Those were my last words to you."

She felt pathetic that those words were the last thing he heard from her. She was sorry. She felt sadness. Not quite grief, but sadness. After all, Sasuke had still been a lifelong friend. At one time, she had loved him. She didn't love him anymore, but she still cared for him. Still regarded him as a friend.

"Gomen. Please forgive me, Sasuke. I should have been kinder," she muttered, and straightened herself out. Sakura wiped at her eyes, making sure that Naruto wouldn't worry about her when she walked into his office.

Quietly, Sakura formed the seals for the transportation jutsu, not wanting to waste the time that it would take to walk, and _poof_-ed outside Naruto's office. She knocked, and entered.

Naruto watched her walk into the room.

"Sakura-chan? I thought you were supposed to be with Sasuke-teme," he stated. After that, it only took a few moments for him to figure out what happened.

Naruto rose quickly from his chair, effectively knocking it backwards, and rushed towards Sakura as fast as his long robes would allow.

"Sasuke died. C-Cardiac ar-arest." Sakura stumbled through her words.

Naruto enveloped her in his arms.

Suddenly, she spoke again. "I…I don't blame you, Naruto-kun. For sending him on that mission, I…I don't blame you."

"I know. I'd be in the hospital by now if you did," he tried to joke half-heartedly, but ended up chocking on his own words. His team-mate was dead.

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**A/N:** -sniff-sniff- It's finally come to the end. I may write an epilogue-type chapter, but until further notice, this is it. I also may edit this chapter to make it longer, but that's also not until further notice. I know it's an abrupt ending, but I didn't want to drag it on for too long. So sorry for the long update.

Arien


	15. Epilogue

"What Happened After"

**Anime**: Naruto

**Genre**: General

**Rating**: T for mild language and other things similar.

**Author**: ariensun

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. I only own the keyboard and computer I am using, along with any and all of my OCs (obviously).

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A/N: Sorry for the long time it took. I promised to have it a long time ago…

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Chapter 15 (Epilogue)

Weeks had passed since Sasuke's funeral. It had been a quiet affair, with only Tsunade, Jiraiya, Naruto, Sakura, Hinata, Ino, and Shikamaru in attendance, as well as the children. Neji and Tenten had turned down their invitations, as had Temari and her brother, Kankuro.

The winter was growing colder and the leaves on the trees had begun to fall. That was why, although she had on a warm coat and a pair of black gloves with the Haruno circle on them, Sakura shivered when a breeze blew through her hair.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief when she came to the Academy building just as the bell rang and the students began filing out. Somewhere in the midst of the mob, Sakura spotted three heads huddled together, colored pink, blonde, and blue-streaked blonde. They were heading towards her. when they finally reached her, Sakura gave them all a warm hug.

The walk home was uneventful, with Hanako Hitomi and Ryo talking about their day, and Sakura simply enjoying her day off work--which was rare when you worked in a hospital under Tsunade's command day and night. They arrived at the house she shared with Itachi, Katsu and Hokuro, and sent the three children into the back yard to wait for Hinata or Naruto, who would come later to take Hitomi and Ryo home.

Sakura went directly upstairs to the master bedroom, where she found Itachi asleep on the bed with a book in his hands. She smiled. _S-class missing nin and criminal ninja indeed,_ she thought, amused. Itachi had a way of always surprising her.

Quietly, Sakura removed her jacket and changed out of her chilled clothes that she had been wearing all day while she ran her errands. She slipped on a pair of black track pant and a pink top, and sat down on the bed beside Itachi. She gently brushed some hair from his face that had fallen out of his ponytail, waking him.

The ever-imposing, S-class, missing nin, ex-Akatsuki member name Uchiha Itachi merely swatted her hand away and rolled onto his other side, muttering something that sounded like, "sleepy…flowers…" to Sakura. Sakura laughed.

"Itachi-kun, wake up."

He ignored her, so she tried again.

"Itachi-kun, wake up or you'll miss dinner, and I won't leave any for you."

Still he ignored her. Sakura sighed and thought of something Ino had taught her. Ino had said that, not only was it good for waking up lazy Shikamarus, it was rather effective in waking blondes named Naruto who fell asleep at work. Sakura smirked.

"UCHIHA ITACHI! WAKE THE HELL UP OR I'LL--eep!"

Sakura suddenly found herself pinned to the bed beneath him, in a rather provocative position, she realized with a smirk. So it had worked.

"Sakura, I swear if you do that again I'll find somewhere else to sleep," he told her.

Sakura frowned. "Is that supposed to scare me?"

"Does it?"

"No, but I'd rather have you sleep here."

"Oh? And why is that, Sakura?"

"It gets awfully cold at night in this big bed when it's just me," she said innocently, suddenly feeling like a teenager again, back when they first met.

Itachi smirked. "Oh? What about your nightmares?" he asked.

"They're not coming back."

"I'm glad," said Itachi, and lowered his lips to hers.

But, as Sakura was to learn, you should never say never.

--

"_Sakura…" she heard a voice behind her whisper._

_She knew that voice. Very well. She didn't think that she'd hear it again._

_She turned around quickly, startled._

"_S-Sasuke-kun!"_

_She could have sworn that she saw the faint hints of a smile on his lips._

"_So you haven't forgotten me," he observed. "I'm glad. I would have been happier if you had told be the truth about Mainyu and Yoshiko from the beginning, though, Sakura-chan. I wouldn't have gotten angry. I wish that I had told you that sooner."_

"_Sasuke-kun…"_

"_Sakura," he addressed her suddenly, "did you lie to me about anything else? Anything that didn't have to do with Itachi?"_

_Sakura shook her head. "No. Never."_

"_Sakura, have you loved me? When I came back from Sound, and when we were married--after you had met Itachi--did you really still love me? AS much as you told me you did?"_

"_Yes," Sakura nodded. "I…I loved you, Sasuke-kun…I never lied about that."_

_Sasuke nodded in approval._

"_Sakura," he spoke again._

"_Hai?"_

"_Do you know where we are?"_

_Sakura looked around her and noticed the stone bench beside her. This road, the one that led out of Konoha, seemed to be a symbol for them. So many things had happened to them here. Sasuke left on this road, Sakura told him about their first child together on this road, and Sasuke had even proposed to her here. Sasuke approached her, stopping when their faces were only inches apart._

"_Thank you, Sakura-chan. For loving me, for everything you've done for me, and for everything you've given me. Arigato."_

_It was just like when they were twelve, only now she was being given the reason. And this time, instead of knocking her unconscious, Sasuke kissed her._

"_Sasuke-kun…" Sakura whispered softly as their lips hovered over each other's after the kiss, "I…I'm sorry."_

_That was all she could think to say._

_The corners of Sasuke's mouth turned up, into a small but warm smile. That was precious to Sakura. She had only ever seen Sasuke truly smile a rare few times._

"_Sayonara, Sakura-chan," whispered Sasuke, and he disappeared all at once from Sakura's sight._

"_Sasuke-kun!"_

--

"Sasuke-kun!"

"Sakura, wake up!"

Sakura bolted upright in her bed, awake and greeted by dizziness, morning, sunlight, and Itachi's concerned look.

"I-I-Itachi-k-k-kun?"

"Hai. What happened, Sakura-chan?" Itachi asked, genuinely concerned.

"I had a nightmare," said Sakura, then quickly explained before Itachi had time to fully react. "It was different, though. He seemed happy…content…so I guess it's not really a nightmare at all. Not really."

Itachi nodded. "Good. I'm glad you're alright, Sakura-chan. Remember that we have to meet with Naruto-san today.

And just like that, the little bit of euphoria Sakura had gained was out the window. She groaned and tried to hide her head under her pillow, but Itachi took the pillow from her hands with a smirk.

"Come on. I'll meet you at the Hokage Tower after you drop Hanako-chan off at the Academy."

Sakura groaned again--wanting nothing more than to go back to sleep--but got out of bed and changed anyway…reluctant as she was to even move, let alone speak with Naruto, because she already knew what he would say.

--

**Hokage's Office, just before noon**

"Arigato, Itachi-san. Wait outside. I want to speak with Sakura-cahn alone for a minute."

"Hai," nodded Itachi, and exited Naruto's office with a polite half-bow.

As soon as the door had closed behind him, and Itachi had slunk into the shadows of the hall, Sakura turned to Naruto. The blonde was wearing an uncharacteristic look of either worry or apprehension--or both--on his face.

"Nani?" asked Sakura. "What is it, Naruto-kun?"

"Sakura," Naruto began (yes, it was definitely both), "are you sure that you want to do this? Marry Itachi? Have you given this enough though? Thought of how to hide it? What people will say?"

"I don't care what people will say!" argued Sakura. "I love him!"

"Dammit!" Naruto pounded his fists down on his desk, startling Sakura. "He's a missing nin! Bingo books, Sakura! Doesn't that mean anything to you?!"

Sakura took a deep breath and managed to keep her voice firm.

"I love him, Naruto, and I will marry him with or without your blessing, with or without your permission, if I have to, but I will marry him. I want to be his wife; I want to be eternally bound to him. I don't care if he must be locked up in prison for the first two, five, or ten years. One day, I will be with him. Mark my words, Naruto-_kun_," she finished dangerously.

With that, Sakura stormed out of his office, leaving Naruto to hold his head in his hands, helpless to do anything.

--

**Weeks Later - Sakura and Itachi's Home**

Sakura regarded herself in the full-length mirror that she had borrowed from Ino. This would be her wedding day. She was nervous, of course, but not nearly as much as she had been the first time. The first time…Sakura shook her head. No. Today it was all her and Itachi.

She smiled as she admired her reflection. Even though it was a small ceremony--the opposite of the very public wedding she'd had when she married Sasuke and took the Uchiha name for the first time--Ino had insisted on her doing her makeup again. Red lip color and light pink eye-shadow coordinated perfectly with her red kimono. Her pink hair was done up in a fancy bun and held there by a senbon needle, with a few strands hanging loose around her face in all the right places.

Suddenly, a knock on the door came. Expecting it to be Ino, Sakura told the person to come in. Turning around she saw that it was Itachi. She frowned playfully.

"It's very unlucky for the groom to see his bride," she told him.

Itachi smiled. "I don't believe in luck," he said, "but I do believe that you look absolutely beautiful in that kimono."

Sakura blushed and muttered a thank you.

Itachi seemed to have noticed her nervousness, and Sakura felt herself being enveloped by a pair of strong arms.

"Sakura, are you afraid?" he asked her. "Of going through with this…are you afraid?"

Sakura blushed, embarrassed. "H-Hai," she admitted.

Itachi smiled and kissed her temple. "Don't be. I promise that we'll make things work."

"But after tonight we won't…we'll be apart for two whole years, Itachi-kun. How can I not be worried? How can I not be…afraid?" asked Sakura, her eyes starting to water. She was going to ruin her makeup again, just like when she married Sas--_dammit, Sakura! Stop thinking about him!_ her mind screamed at her.

Itachi wiped her eyes for her carefully. "Don't cry for me, Sakura. Don't cry."

Sakura nodded. "Hai."

Itachi smiled and led her out of the room. "Come on, koishii."

The ceremony was slow, but an hour later, Sakura heard the words she had been waiting for all day.

"--husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

"With pleasure," Itachi whispered in her ear, and in front of Tsunade, Naruto (who had ended up as Itachi's Best Man), Hinata, Ino, Yoshiko (who was Sakura's Maid of Honour), Mainyu, and a dozing Shikamaru (who had been forced to come by Ino), he kissed her.

--

**Next Day, mid-morning**

"Please," pleaded a crying Sakura, grasping Itachi's wrist firmly, "please, don't go."

"I'm sorry," said Itachi. He could feel the hard gazes of the two ANBU guards waiting to escort him to Konoha's high-security prison.

"Please, Itachi-kun, I love you. I'll miss you, so much. I'll miss you."

Itachi drew Sakura into his arms. "Don't cry for me, Sakura. You'll be able to visit, Naruto-san promised you that much, and I'll be back home with you and the boys in two years. Naruto-san let me off easy. You've done your part. So I thank you."

Sakura's body shook. Two years was a long time.

Shaking, she nodded and leaned into a kiss. Their lips locked and Sakura savoured the taste of his lips on her. "Goodbye, Itachi-kun."

Itachi placed a kiss on her cheek. "See you soon, koishii."

"See you soon," Sakura replied, and watched as he was escorted away by the ANBU guards.

When they had all vanished from sight, and Sakura was alone in the room, she licked her lips. She could still taste Itachi's kiss on them.

"I love you," she whispered.

--

A/N: I'm nearly in tears right now. It's over! It's so sad:'(

Anyway, there it is. Weeks (months, by now) and weeks overdue, but I got it up! The epilogue! The end! -tear- Chapter 14 has also been edited by now, btw. I made a few changes, so you can go back and read it if you want.

Oh, by the way; Koishii: means beloved in jap.

And some advertising: please check out my newest Naruto story, _Haruno Hikaru_! If you're interested, you can check out my profile page for info!

And the last time I'll ask for reviews for _What Happened After_: REVIEW, please! Onegai:)

Arien

PS: at the moment that I am posting this chapter, I have 10,000 hits and 43 _brilliant_ reviews! I'm rather proud of that! So, I would like to thank everyone who reviewed this story, right from the beginning. In order they are:

Armorfighter

Haruko Baka Chan

The Silver Feathered Raven

pupluvgurl (reviewed twice!)

Redninja44 (reviewed four times!)

Midnight Dreams Remembered

JakeCrusher

animedreamerz05

Confuzzled239 (reviewed five times!)

jami16 (reviewed seven times! thanks so much for the support:D )

Noodle-lub-Yooh (reviewed twice!)

Ghostboy814 (reviewed five times!)

4dg316

hinata's inner universe

slstmaraudersjple

blackXpinksakura

Kelly (anon.)

Mistress Blossom

nhix (anon.)

nejitenrocks

BlondeKell

lilix283 (anon.)

Jasmine Lee (anon.) (a big thank you goes out to you, Jasmine, for absolutely begging me not to end it:) I laughed when I read your review!)

Talleh

Thank you all for your reviews!


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